What Should Have Been
by recodan
Summary: REUPLOADED BECAUSE YOU WHINED! In the anime, Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba are often teamed up. This is what I would have happen if they had been teamed from the start.
1. Chapter 1

The sun seemed beautiful as it rose over the trees. It was a small joy for Hinata, as she walked towards the Academy for her team assignment. Naruto-kun had failed, at her hope, her dream of being on his team…was dead.

No one had noticed her last night, crying herself to sleep. She knew she shouldn't be this emotional. The Hyuuga were strong and kept their emotions in check. But she was the weakest of the clan, the only failure. Her fathers scorn for her was well deserved. She felt the tears returning as she walked across the playground to the classroom.

She stopped herself and wiped the tears away. She still would be able to see Naruto-kun. He would be here in the academy, so she could come by, and with that wonderful jacket of his it was easy to spot him. All she would need to do is watch for his latest prank. Sniffling slightly, she opened the door.

The first thing her eyes fell on was Naruto, proudly displaying his forehead protector.

---

" Now, for those of you…" The Third had begun as the door to the meeting hall swung open. Sarutobi sighed as his son entered a half hour late for the jounin meeting.

" Hey, sorry I'm late. Kakashi must be rubbing of on me." Asuma said, chuckling.

" I was here twenty minutes early." Kakashi said without looking away from his book. The nods from the other jounin convinced Asuma. _Figures this is the one time. _he mused as he sat down.

" As I was saying, we now come to the genin teams that you will be assigned this year. Do any of you have requests for a specific student?" said the Third, refocusing everyone's attention.

" I'd like the Uchiha." Kakashi said with boredom.

" That seems sensible. Anyone else?"

" I want the Hyuuga, the Inuzuka, and the Fourths kid." Asuma said, fiddling with a cigarette. He knew that this was going to take some convincing.

There was quiet pause. It was rare for a jounin to hand pick a team.

" I assume you have reasons for this?" Sarutobi asked dryly. He and his son were on speaking terms again, but situations where Ashuma overstepped himself were very tense and, unfortunately, common.

" My genin team had a Inuzuka on it." begun Asuma. " They have some of Kohona's most powerful attacks. But I've never seen a member of that clan that possessed any finesse." Several Inuzuka jounin nodded in agreement. It was hard to argue against the truth. " The Hyuuga, on the other hand, have nothing but finesse. Their attacks are deadly and precise, but they lack power. The two would balance each other out."

" And Uzamaki Naruto?" Sarutobi asked, seeing where his son was going.

" The boy is a loose cannon. I'd say that personality wise, me and him match." There was a slightly insulting but unanimous nod from everyone. " Naruto probably pulls so many pranks because there aren't any adults he can respect or relate to tell him to stop. I figure I can either control the punk or knock some sense into him. Plus, since I'm putting together an assault team, I don't want really specialize kids." Asuma smiled as his father and others nodded, agreeing with his logic.

" You want to form an assault team from genin?" Kakashi asked, looking skeptical.

" Sure. You start them young like we do with other types of teams and they'll be better at it later on. Kohona needs to make sure it keeps a supply of heavy hitters around. This peace can't last forever."

" Are you sure you want the Uzamaki boy, though?" The academy teacher that had asked quailed under a glare from the Hokage. However, many shared the teachers opinion from the looks on their face.

" Sure. That way, I can pay off my debt to the Fourth by making sure that his son doesn't get killed. I've seen the reports. That boys met with more "accidents" than anyone his age should have and is lucky to have lived through them. He needs someone to keep a eye on him."

There was a stunned, awkward silence in the chamber. Asuma's true meaning had been painfully clear, and several individuals looked guilty.

Asuma sat back as everyone digested what he had said. He knew that he had laid it on a bit heavy, but he had wanted to. At Kurenai's stern suggestion, he had looked though the genin graduating to get a feel for their abilities. He had been utterly amazed at Naruto's file. The boy had been hospitalized so many times from obvious attempts on his life that it angered him that his father hadn't taken action. He'd talked with Iruka and found out the boy was as unpopular with the students as he was the villagers. The Inuzuka, however, was as friendly as could be and had only argued with the boy, and Iruka believed the Hyuuga girl had a crush on Naruto. They seemed good candidates for a team with the boy.

" Very well." Sarutobi said. Asuma smiled and sat up, facing the looks that the other jounin gave him.

---

" Hey, Naruto, I thought you flunked out!" Kiba said as he passed Naruto.

" I stayed after class and did extra credit." Naruto said, feeling superior. Kiba looked annoyed.

" We could do extra credit? Akamaru, I told you we didn't need to study!" The boy and the dog walked to their seat, looking annoyed.

Naruto smiled. Beating Mizuki, saving Iruka, finding out that there was someone in the village that truly cared about him…the night before had been one of the best of his life. Iruka entered and nodded to him, causing Naruto to swell with pride.

" All right everyone! I have your team and jounin assignments. You will wait for them and then go with them for team introductions."

The genin all tensed as Iruka began to read. Hinata looked down at Naruto.

" I could be on his team…please let me be on his team…" she thought, trying to will it to happen.

" Team Seven is Sakura, Shino, and Sasuke! Your jounin will be Kakashi." Sakura cheered. Naruto sulked. He had wanted to be on Sakura-chan's team so bad…

" Team Eight will be Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. Your jounin will be Kurenai." Ino's face fell as she realized the fat kid and the slacker was on her team, making Kiba and Akamaru laugh a little. The girl was such a shrew she deserved it.

" Team Nine is Kiba, Hinata, and Naruto."

Hinata went numb. It had really happened. She was on Naruto-kun's team. A warm, joyous feeling she hadn't felt since before her mother died flowed though her body. Somehow, fate had conspired…for her.

" Hey Hinata!" Kiba said, plopping down in the seat by the girl, who seemed to be frozen. Naruto slumped up the steps to sit with them. He took a seat on the other side of her. Kiba noticed Hinata's cheeks flush and body tense. " Hey, Hinata, are you okay?" Kiba asked, concerned.

" Y-yes. Sorry." Hinata said, eyes turning downwards.

" You don't have to say sorry!" Akamaru barked, forgetting Kiba was the only one who understood him.

Before the class had setteled back down and before they could talk, the door to the class opened.

" Hey, dog boy, blondie, and you, miss . Your with me." The genin looked up. A large, powerfully muscled man was leaning through the door. He wore the standard ninja uniform, but also wore a strange sash on his waist. He had a full beard and a lit cigarette. Hinata recognized him as the son of the Third. They got up and followed him.

" Hey, sensei, where are we going?" Naruto asked.

" A grill. Its my treat today."

" All right!" Kiba exclaimed. He and the pup now wore wide smiles.

---

It had taken ten minutes to get to the grill, but Asuma already knew he had a good feel for the genin's personalities.

Kiba and Naruto were brash, argumentative, and refused to back down. They were going to butt heads with each other continually and were almost ready to fight each other. In short, they were normal boys. Hinata, on the other hand, was the most timid and quiet girl he had ever met. He wondered if it was really wise for someone so passive to try and become a ninja. She didn't seem like she could harm anyone.

They got to the grill and were welcomed by the staff. Asuma was a regular and a favorite here, so they were happy to see him. They glanced at Naruto worriedly until Asuma gave them a glare. He knew that he would have to deal with the villagers dislike for Naruto, and he already impatient with them. _Idiots_, he thought. The Fourth had given his live to turn his only child into a jailor that could keep them safe from the fox, and they had decided the boy was something to fear. Some times, he hated being back in the village.

" We'll be right out with your lunch." said the waitress, faking a sweet smile to the genin. Naruto didn't notice, but Hinata and Kiba seemed a little surprised at the obvious forced nature of her greeting. Asuma knew it would be best to distract them.

" All right, I brought us here so we can get to know each other more. I don't know too much about you, and this is a chance to get to know your new friends better." Naruto's eyes bulged as Asuma said the word friends. He'd never even considered that his teammates could become his friends. He suddenly felt nervous. He hadn't had many friends before, so he didn't want to blow this.

"Since you will be training, going on missions, and depending on them to keep you alive, you had better do your best to learn who they are. It might help you spot a imposter or something. Also, I'm required to do this. Blondie, you first."

" I'm Uzamaki Naruto!" the small boy exclaimed loudly. " I…"

Asuma silenced him by clasping his hand to the boys mouth.

" Have you never been in a restaurant before?" He felt a pang of guilt as the boy shook his head no. " Well, you need to talk at a normal, polite level."

He removed his hand. The boy looked embarrassed.

" Sorry. I didn't know. Anyways, I'm Uzamaki Naruto. I want to be the next Hokage. I like ramen."

Asuma nodded, pretending the boy had done a good job talking about himself. The level to which the boy had been isolated was already horribly apparent.

" This is Akamaru, and I'm Kiba." said Kiba on his turn. " I'm part of the Inuzuka clan. We raise dogs like Akamaru to aid us in battle. My families been with the dogs so long we have special bloodline jutsu to use with them. Akamaru like chasing cats, sticks, and birds. His favorite type of chew toys are rawhides soaked in beef juice. He also likes those ropes you have tugs of war with." Akamaru yipped in agreement.

" Uh, good Kiba." said Asuma, who knew more about Akamaru than he did about the boy. He looked to Hinata, who blushed and looked down.

" I am Hyuuga Hinata, heir to the Hyuuga clan." she said in a practiced tone with a few contained wavers.

" I study my clans jutsu and fighting styles, but I am not very good with them."

" That's no problem. Your only twelve, Hinata. You have plenty of time to learn and improve." Asuma tried to compliment her and reassure her, but Hinata only got more depressed looking.

The meat for the lunch arrived, with the boys immediately arguing over the largest piece. Asuma sighed, hoping he had not bit off too much with these kids.

---

" Man, that was good." Kiba said, patting his stomach.

" It wasn't as nearly asgood as ramen, but it was tasty. Thanks for treating us, sensei!" Naruto said, smiling. Hinata mumbled something, but Asuma didn't catch it.

" All right then, we come to your first test. We're going to race to the fourth training ground." Asuma said, standing up and stretching.

" Sensei, we just ate!" Naruto whined.

Ashuma gave him a look of "So?" and dove though the window. The genin looked surprised at his graceful landing. Asuma raced at top speed to the training ground, arriving five minutes later.

Kiba and Akamaru arrived first, unsurprisingly. The Inuzuka had the fittest bodies in Kohona, thanks to their bloodline. Naruto arrived shortly after, and to Asuma's surprise he seemed barely winded, even though he had gone at top speed. Hinata was last, puffing for breath and red faced.

" Can anyone guess why I had you do that?" Asuma asked. The genin's faces were blank, so he continued.

"As ninja, you will be required to react to inconvenient situations like running after eating on a regular basis. I also wanted to see how fast you are. You all did pretty good. Now, we're going to test your hand to hand skills. Naruto and Kiba, you first."

Hinata needed a break, so it seemed a good idea to put the boys up first. Kiba set Akamaru down and turned and faced Naruto. Akamaru crouched into a ready position.

" Hey, get the puppy out of here! He'll be in the way!" Naruto said, pointing to Akamaru,

" Akamaru and I fight together as a team." Kiba said, revealing a fanged smirk.

" But that's not fair! Sensei, is that fair?" Naruto asked, looking to Ashuma.

" Deal with it, Naruto. It'll make you tougher." Asuma said, lighting a cigarette.

Naruto entered a rough crouch, grumbling. Kiba sprang forward and before Naruto could react Kiba delivered a light punch to his stomach.

" Ha!" Kiba said, smirking.

" You got lucky!" Naruto fumed.

After several more rounds, it was obvious that Kiba had not. He was several times faster than Naruto, stronger, and had height and reach on his side. Asuma could not help but notice Naruto's taijutsu was outright pathetic. His movements were unpracticed and had obviously received very little attention, making Asuma wonder how much Iruka had really been able to do for him. Iruka had said that the other teachers didn't spend much time with Naruto, but he had truly understated it.

Hinata gasped as Naruto was knocked down for the tenth time. He angrily stood back up and dusted himself off.

" Come on!" he said, motioning to Kiba. Smirking, Kiba set into a ready stance again.

" That's enough. Kiba, your still up. Naruto, come take a break."

" Sensei, I'm not tired!" Naruto whined. Despite all the times he had been knocked down, the boy seemed fine.

" Well, its Hinata turn." Asuma said, not wanting to argue. Hinata looked fearfully to Kiba.

" Don't worry, Hinata. I won't hit a girl hard. Akamaru, you can go take a break." Asuma had to stop himself from laughing. The boy had no idea what was about to happen.

Hinata took a fighting stance, though she still looked somewhat afraid. Kiba raced towards her at his fast lope and went for a punch. Hinata simply sidestepped it and delivered a pat to the back of Kiba's neck as he flew by, indicating a lethal strike.

" Way to go Hinata!" Naruto cheered. Hinata immediately blushed and fell into her finger tapping position. Kiba whirled and looked at her, stunned. He leapt back in for another attack. Asuma was sure that Hinata was about to be injured and almost had called out when she ducked the blow and rolled away.

The gap between Hinata and Kiba was not as bad as it had been with Naruto and Kiba, but it was still vast. While Kiba had speed on his side, Hinata moved with the signature grace of the Hyuuga, avoiding the Inuzuka's wild attacks. She delivered precise strikes that didn't look like they would hurt, but Asuma knew were deadly Jyuuken strikes. Kiba began to get out of breath and his form began to deteriorate.

" Kiba, take a break. Naruto, your back up." Naruto cheered and raced to face Hinata.

Hinata froze. Naruto-kun was going to fight her. She couldn't hit him…he was worse than Kiba, and if she fought him he would just be embarrassed and hate her.

" All right, Hinata! I'm looking forward to this!" Naruto said as he crouched into a position he hadn't against Kiba. Asuma wondered if he had been holding out against Kiba.

Hinata could hardly believe it. Naruto-kun was looking forward to fighting her.

" Naruto-kun…why are you…?" Hinata asked shakily.

" Well, you beat Kiba so easily, its obvious you're the best of us. I can learn a lot from you, then. Plus, I think I know how to beat you!" Naruto said, smiling widely.

The best? Hinata paused for a moment, letting the comment filter though her mind. Naruto thought she was good at Taijutsu. Suddenly, it didn't matter to her that she was the weakest Hyuuga. If Naruto thought she was good and wanted to see her fight, she knew she could.

She took her stance. Naruto smiled his foxy grin and without warning he leapt into the air, coming down like an meteor towards Hinata. Hinata had to back up to avoid the kick. It was still roughly done, but the Hyuuga style's defense was weak against aerial attacks. How had he noticed that so quickly? She aimed a jab at him, but he simply dodged backwards. He kept his distance from her. He used a series of aerial kicks against her, retreating after each one. If she tried charging, he would just dodge away. After a while, Asuma stopped them.

" Naruto, why did you go with that strategy?" Asuma said, eyeing the boy and reassessing him. He had more brains than was apparent.

" Well, since I attacked from above, Hinata would have to dodge or block me. If she blocked, it would hurt, so she had to dodge. Since she's really good at close range, but not as fast as I am, I need to keep away."

Hinata looked to the ground ashamed. Naruto had noticed her styles weakness so quickly, it must have been glaring. She wished she wasn't so pathetic so she could have challenged him.

" Hey, but Naruto didn't get any hits in." Kiba said dourly. " That means he didn't really do better than me."

" Correct, but he didn't get hit himself. Combat isn't about how much you can hit your opponent. Its about avoid your opponents attacks."

The genin looked up to him, confused. Ashuma sighed and began to explain the basics of combat to them again. He knew they, like he had, had not listened to the lecture in class. At that age, they just wanted to hit the other person, and since they had never had a wound, would not appreciate what getting hit was really like.

" So its better to fight for a long time and not get hurt than beat your opponent?" Naruto asked, confused.

" Not always, but generally. Sometimes you have to risk getting hurt, but usually its best to get though with as little injury as possible. Considering the focus of our team, that will be a goal."

" The focus?" Kiba asked as he scratched Akamaru's ear.

" This group is a combat-oriented group. While we have other abilities, the skill selection of the group is better for engaging opponents. We might be put on patrol in a dangerous area, be used to open a large attack against a number of targets, or defend against a attack by a powerful opponent."

" Awesome!" Naruto and Kiba cried. Hinata looked worried. Ashuma knew the boys would like that information, since at that age, they were raring for action.

" Sensei?" Hinata asked. She didn't think she could handle that. " Why am I on this team, then?"

" Hinata, the Hyuuga clan had incredible skill and precision with their attacks. Jyuuken is also one of the most deadly fighting styles ever invented. No matter who you fight, you have the potential to end the fight in a single hit. Hyuuga techniques, however, do not have large damage effects. The Inuzuka have some truly incredible attacks, but they are hard to aim."

" And me?" Naruto asked, looking hopeful.

" Naruto, you don't have any specialization. You are on the team to balance out the other two." Naruto seemed a little crestfallen, but quickly raised his smile again.

" Now, I want you to demonstrate your best jutsu."

Kiba and Akamaru instantly sprung into their Four Legs Jutsu, which made them even faster and stronger. They demonstrated their abilities by delivering several hits to a tree, leaving impacts on the bark and cracking the wood. Hinata showed her Byakugan ability to see in a long range and how she could close the chakra points on a enemy, leaving Kiba's arm numb. Naruto laughed at Kiba as his arm flopped at his side uselessly.

" All right!" Naruto shouted, springing onto a rock. " My turn!"

Kiba and Akamaru laughed their barking laughs. Hinata looked at Naruto embarrassedly.

" Naruto, you don't have any jutsu. You were the worst in the class with them." Kiba said.

" Really?" Naruto said, looking mischievous. He formed a hand sign and drew a massive burst of chakra. Asuma was surprised the boy his age could manage that much without dying immediately. There was a burst of smoke, and ten identical clones of Naruto appeared.

" That's it?" Kiba said, looking unimpressed. " So you can make a lot of clones?"

" Not clones. Shadow clones." Naruto said. One clone leapt and landed by Kiba and poked him. Kiba looked shocked.

" Kid, you can use shadow clones?" Asuma said, also amazed. The shadow clones was a high level and tiring technique. Creating ten would exhaust most ninja's chakra.

" Yeah! I can do a lot more too!" Naruto said proudly.

" How are shadow clones different?" Kiba asked. Akamaru looked puzzled as well.

" Shadow clones are exact physical copies. They can fight and hurt you like the original. They disappear if they take a some damage, but they are still useful. Naruto, how many can you make?"

" Lets see!" Naruto said. He and the clones formed the hand signs again. There was a massive burst of chakra, far too much to be coming from the boy. Asuma didn't know of anyone who could draw that much chakra. The cloud of smoke the clones appeared in overwhelmed them for a moment, then faded away.

In every direction there was orange. They were surrounded on all sides by rows and rows of clones.

" All right! Line up and count off!" said one. The clones began to count themselves as Hinata and Kiba looked on, amazed.

" I definitely want to learn that jutsu." Kiba said. " We could get every cat in the village at once."

" Oh man…that would be awesome." agreed Akamaru.

" You could, but there's two things you should know." interjected Asuma. "First, it's a third level jutsu, a jounin level technique. That's like your clans Piercing Fang technique." Kiba looked stunned. " Second, Naruto has insane chakra reserves. I think that I could manage maybe twenty shadow clones at max. It's a useful technique, but a costly one. I've never seen anyone create that many clones."

Hinata just stood in shock. Naruto was even more incredible than she had thought. That many clones, it wouldn't matter how skilled your opponent was. No one could block that many attacks, except maybe her father and the Third.

" One hundred and five!" said a clone, trotting over to where they stood.

" That's pretty impressive, kid. Your role on the team just changed." Asuma said, ruffling Naruto's hair.

" Really? What?" Naruto said, looking excited.

" You're the jutsu powerhouse. That many clones will be able to overwhelm enemy groups and with chakra reserves like you have you'll be able to do some truly incredible jutsu."

" Really! That's great!" Naruto said, throwing his arms up in celebration. He suddenly doubled over in pain. The clones all did so as well, causing the jutsu to be disrupted and them to disappear.

" Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted, rushing to his side. Kiba, Akamaru, and Asuma were there a second later, all sharing Hinata's concern. Naruto groaned.

" What is it, kid? Upset stomach?" Asuma said before he noticed a burn on Naruto's jacket. He had Naruto lay down and unzipped it. When they say what was underneath, they all gasped.

Naruto's shirt was a charred mess. His skin was burnt in a strange pattern, which Asuma knew to be the seal. The skin blistered visibly and some sections were smoking. The burns were at least third degree.

" Drawing that much chakra has some drawbacks." Asuma ad-libbed, trying not to reveal the demon fox's existence. " Don't do it unless it's a emergency."

" Y-yes." Naruto gasped.

Hinata searched though her pack until she came to her medical supplies. She had several salves she had made herself, to help deal with the injuries she received from training. One was for burns, but she hadn't tried it before. Hoping it worked, she unscrewed the lid. Fighting away her nervousness about touching Naruto, she began to dab it on the burns. Naruto's face immediately relaxed.

" Hinata, what are you doing?" Kiba asked.

" I-i'm t-treating the burns." Hinata said, smearing more on a blistering spot. She felt strangely ashamed of touching Naruto.

" That stuff works great, Hinata." Naruto said, somewhat stronger. " It doesn't hurt anymore."

Asuma, Akamaru, and Kiba had all looked to Naruto's face when he talked, and when they turned back to the burn they gasped. Where Hinata had applied the salve, the burns had began to heal rapidly. Hinata had a needle and was lancing the blisters before she applied more of the salve. In less than a minute, there were only light red marks on the skin.

" Hinata, that salve, where did you get it?" Asuma asked in awe.

" I made it, sensei." Hinata said, looking bashful. " I have a limited allowance, so I just make my medical supplies myself."

Naruto sat up and rubbed the healed skin, wincing only slightly.

" Hinata, that stuff is great!"

" I agree." Asuma said as the girl blushed. " You might have some serious talent as a medic-nin."

Hinata's eyes bugged. She had talent? She was always the worst at everything and was worthless….but they had all seemed so impressed by the salve. It had worked well, but Hinata knew it still needed some refining.

" Thank you, sensei." she said, bowing.

" No, thank you. You saved Naruto a trip to the hospital." Asuma was glad when Hinata perked up, realizing what she had been able to do.

---

Asuma had stopped practice after Naruto had injured himself, telling them to meet back the next day. Kiba took off running. He'd enjoyed practice, but it was past time to go run around.

" Come on, Akamaru! The ducks might still be in the pond by the hospital!" he said, leaping a small fence.

" All right!" Akamaru barked back.

They boy and dog were almost identical in interests. At least once a day they went to disturb the local wildlife, they romped around town constantly, and when they spotted a cat in a alley, they often would spend hours chasing. All of which is to say they were typical Inuzuka.

Sitting down on a curb to take a rest after harassing a postal worker, Kiba began to mull over the day. He wasn't the quickest thinker in existence, but when there was something to consider he was good at making himself do it.

" So, what did you think of the team?" he asked.

" Naruto smells weird, doesn't he?" Akamaru said. Kiba nodded. " Like a combination of bad milk, ramen, and something like a fox, right?"

" Yeah. Hey, that's what it is, a fox! Those tattoo's on his face, they look like a fox's whiskers!" Kiba exclaimed. They had wondered for years. " Maybe the Uzamaki clan had something to do with foxes?"

" I don't know. The older dogs won't tell me anything about him your parents won't."

They sat in silence for a moment.

" Hinata's hot, ain't she?" Akamaru asked, smiling.

" How would you find her hot?" Kiba asked, looking stunned.

" Well, you can tell if a female dog is good looking, I can tell if a human female is good looking. Plus, they all have the same basic parts."

" Dude, you could get in so much trouble if your mom heard you say that." Kiba said. He and Akamaru laughed for a moment. " But your right. She is totally hot."

" I like Asuma. He's going to bee a good alpha. He strong and from what I hear, he's pretty smart."

" Yeah." said Kiba, standing up. " Plus, he bought lunch. If the alpha can provide, the rest doesn't matter."

There was a mewing sound nearby.

" Cat!" they yelled in unison.

Later, after many misadventures, they arrived home. It was nearly dark.

" Hey mom! Were back!" Akamaru yipped, bounding through the dog door. Kiba squeezed through a moment later.

" Kiba, you'll get yourself stuck one day." woofed Akamaru's mother. " When that happens, you will only be able to blame yourself."

" Aw, come on. Give me a break." Kiba said, standing up. He walked to the kitchen. The Inuzuka manor was much different than the other clan houses. It was in disrepair, dirty, and filled with rowdy, loud dogs and people. The estate was overgrown and littered with holes the pups and kids dug to hide toys. The only people who could stand living by them were the Aburmae clan, which traded for the lice and other bugs that the Inuzuka and their dogs would pick up in the course of their existence.

" So, how did today go?" Kiba's father said, looking up from a partially chewed newspaper.

" Pretty good. I think my teammates are pretty nice, and I got good sensei."

" Good. You'll have to tell us about them over dinner." His father stopped and sniffed. " Go take a bath. You smell like a cat."

" Aww." said Kiba and Akamaru in unison.

---

Today had been the best day of Hinata life.

Even the fact that she was being beaten by Hanabi as badly as usual in training couldn't dampen her spirits.

" What is with you? That smile is creepy." her little sister said, scowling.

" I had a good day and was teamed with…" Hinata began, heart fluttering at the thought, before being cut off.

" That blonde brat you have a crush on? Fathers going to be angry when he finds out." Hanabi teased cruelly. She had discovered Hinata's secret and often used it to blackmail her sister. Usually, this would have sent a rush of terror though Hinata, but for some reason, it didn't faze her today.

" I don't really care." Hinata said. Hanabi stood shocked for a moment, her guard dropped. Hinata landed a Jyuuken hit on there arm, shutting a chakra point and numbing the limb.

" You don't care? He'll punish you." Hanabi said, rubbing her arm and scowling.

" I don't care!" Hinata said somewhat loudly, feeling unusually defiant.

Today had been so incredible, so great, she truly believed nothing her father could do could make it bad. She had beaten Naruto , Akamaru, and Kiba at Taijutsu, but they didn't mind. They had been excited about training with her, not at all put off by the fact she had beaten them. Everyone had complimented her and she had deserved their praise. She may be the weakest of the Hyuuga, but today she had realized that the weakest of the Hyuuga was still very strong.

And Naruto's injury…she had healed it and saved him from pain. It wasn't dangerous, but it could have been very bad for him. He'd been so grateful and smiled at her…she felt her spirits rise just thinking about it. Hanabi looked on is disbelief as Hinata smiled and squealed quietly to herself, wrapped in the memory.

" Come on, then! Again!" Hanabi said, taking a stance. She barely waited for Hinata before charging. Hinata suddenly remembered how Naruto had attacked her and forced chakra into her legs, letting her leap forcefully into the air. She brought a kick down with all her might. Hanabi, shocked, tried to block with her arm. Hinata's size and inertia, however, was too much, and there was a crunch as Hinata brought her foot down.

"Aahhhh!" Hanabi screamed in pain while clutching her arm. Hinata blinked in shock as she landed. She immediately reached for her pouch and drew a small tin she kept filled with acupuncture needles.

" Here." Hinata said. Hanabi held her arm out and Hinata stuck a needle into the nerve bundle. Hanabi immediately relaxed. " We need to get you in to the healer."

Hinata guided Hanabi in, supporting her arm. The pain would be far lessened from the needle, but it would not be gone. Hinata had likely fractured the bone with her kick. The walked though the Hyuuga manor to the healers chamber. The healer immediately set to using a medical jutsu to repair the bone. Hiashi arrived almost immediately.

" I was told my daughter had been injured." he asked as he entered. He saw the healer tending to Hanabi and Hinata standing nearby. " What happened?" he asked Hinata curtly.

" I attempted a aerial kick one of my teammates tried today in our training. Hanabi blocked it, but it fractured the bone."

Hiashi, used to his least favorite daughter being quiet and apologetic, was taken aback as she described how she had injured her sister, a contented smile on her face.

" Is it serious?" Hiashi said, asking the healer.

" No, but she should not use her arm heavily for several days." replied he healer.

" Hinata used a cheap attack against me." Hanabi said accusingly.

" Shut up." Hinata said in a sing song voice. Hiashi and Hanabi looked to her in shock. She was looking at a scroll on the wall, seemingly ignoring them.

" What did you say?" Hiashi asked angrily.

" I told her to shut up. She's so much better than me, if she can't handle the fact I got lucky once, it'll be embarrassing."

They all stood in silence. Hinata bowed to her father and began to leave.

" Uzamaki Naruto is on her genin team, and she has a crush on him." Hanabi said, laying her trump cards on the table. Her father would be furious.

Hanabi was not disappointed. Hiashi's temple vein bulged and a intense killer intent radiated from him.

" You…what….Uzamaki?" He fumbled with the words as he advanced on his daughter, who was still smiling.

" Naruto-kun is on my team, as well as Inuzuka Kiba and Sarutobi Ashuma. And yes, I love Naruto-kun."

Hanabi and the healer gasped in shock when Hiashi struck his daughter across the face, knocking her to the ground.

" You little slut! It is bad enough that you are so weak and useless, but now you besmirch the family honor like this?" Hinata beg to rise up, one eye darkening already. Hiashi stuck her again in the mouth, knocking several teeth out. She fell to the ground and ceased moving. " You have no idea the embarrassment this means for us! That boy…that boy is the nine tailed fox, a monster! The only reason we have to killed him already is the will of the Third protecting him!"

" Hiashi-sama!" the healer cried.

" I don't care! This lie…its lasted long enough!" Hiashi turned, fuming. " Its time that everyone be told what the boy is." He walked towards elders chambers, leaving his daughter where she lay. Hanabi looked on in horror as Hinata sat back up, blood dripping from her damaged gums and one eye swelling shut. Her smile was still on her face.

" Hanabi-sama, please help me tend to your sister." Hanabi complied with the healer and picked up Hinata and set her on the medical table. They then found the missing teeth. The healer set to healing Hinata's gums and re-inserting the teeth. A strange, cold feeling flowed over Hanabi as she watched the healer work on her sister.

---

Asuma was seated at his favorite table in the grill, working over lists and plans.

" Hinata will need extra endurance training and speed training…we'll have her do that during to mornings." he said to himself, writing it down. He had devised a training schedule he felt would work the best for his group. In the mornings they would each work on their deficiencies. Hinata needed to improve her stamina, Naruto his Taijutsu, and Kiba his brains. Asuma had got the feeling that the boy was rather dull and had checked his grades. They were far worse than Naruto's. He would be giving Kiba chess lessons to try and sharpen him up.

After lunch they would do combat practice against each other for four hours. Then, in the time before they returned home, they would practice their jutsu. Hyuuga and Inuzuka used specialized techniques, so his aid would be of limited use. Naruto, however, he could do something with.

He had to be sure to not play favorites, though. He would focus on one of them each day, which meant they would receive his full attention twice a week. He wouldn't ignore the others the rest of the time, but he would be less attentive. On the last day they were going to meet with the other teams for the large group training Guy suggested. He knew it was just a attempt to call Kakashi out for competition, but Guy had a good idea.

He took a long drag of his cigarette and sat back, savoring the flavor. He'd treated himself today, smoking a high quality import from the Water Village. They had the best ports and the most exotic trade goods, and the tobacco they had was simply incredible. He couldn't afford them, since they cost as much as two packs of his regular fare, but he felt like it.

His team was a little rough, but they were going to mesh fine. Hinata had taken to the inclusion the boys had given her after a while, and the boys had rivalry going already. Naruto and Kiba were going to be a dangerous pair. Kiba had brute power and Naruto brute chakra, which meant they would rarely need to worry about being outmatched there.

" Asuma!" Kurenai said, appearing in a whirl of leaves. " There's a emergency. Come to the Hokage's tower at once. "

He followed wordlessly. Kurenai was the most practical and calm jounin in the village, and if she was concerned like this, there was no time for words.

They arrived minutes later. There was a large crowd assembled of ninja and villagers. The Hyuuga clan seemed to be out in force, as were the Akimachi, Yamanaka, Nara, and several other notable clans. The Inuzuka and Aburmae were conspicuously absent.

" The boy is a monster!" shouted a Hyuuga. Asuma recognized him as Hiashi, the clan leader. " Training him in combat has been a huge mistake! We should kill him now!" A large number of the villagers seemed to be supporting him.

" The boy is the Fourth's legacy." said the leader of the Nara clan. " He is no threat to the village." The Akimachi and Yamanaka, not surprising, agreed with the Nara. The two latter always followed the formers lead.

" But you yourselves are afraid of the boy! You do no different than us, and warn your children against him!" Hiashi shouted.

The villagers and ninja's anger began to rise, and Asuma could see this was heading to violence.

---

Naruto had been eating ramen at Ichiraku like usual.

" A third bowl please! Miso this time, with two eggs!" he said cheerfully.

" Coming right up!" said Teuchi, smiling at his favorite customer.

Naruto thought back over the day as he waited. It had gone pretty well. He liked his team. He had wanted to be on Sakura's, but at least he wasn't on the same team as that stuck up Sasuke. Kiba was a idiot, but he was a pretty nice guy. Hinata was just weird, but at least she was nice to him. That burn stuff she had put on him had been great too. It was hard not to like a puppy, which put Akamaru in his good graces, and anyone who'd but him lunch was cool, so Asuma was on the good list as well.

He looked down at his black shirt sadly. He had gone home for a new shirt and taken his jacket to the one laundry place that didn't throw him out for repairs. He hoped they could fix it. He was fine with just his shirt, but he loved the jacket.

" Here you are, Naruto!" Ayame said, handing him his bowl.

" Thanks!" he said, grabbing his chopsticks.

" Uzamaki Naruto?" came a voice from behind him. He turned. Two ninja with strange animal masks were waiting behind him. He recognized them as some special group Iruka had mentioned a few dozen times. He supposed he should have listened.

" Yes?" he said before taking a bite of ramen.

" There is a special situation going on. The Third sent us to find you to move you to a safe location."

" What's going on? Can I take my ramen?" Naruto worriedly asked.

" We can't tell you. Come on." One of the ANBU grabbed his shoulder. He gulped down a mouthful of ramen, paid his tab, and raced off, following them.

---

" So Akamaru, I hear you and Kiba got a team today." asked a elderly dog by the dinner table. The dogs were all lined up around their bowls, while the Inuzuka sat at a table, though their dinner plates were rather dog bowl shaped.

" Yeah, we did!" Kiba said. " We got someone called Asuma for our jounin. He seemed pretty cool. There was also a Hyuuga girl called Hinata and Uzamaki Naruto."

Several people choked as he listed the last name, but nothing else was said. Kiba and Akamaru exchanged glances.

" Um, just a question about the Uzamaki clan…did they have something to do with foxes?" Akamaru asked.

The adults coughed, taken by surprise. Kiba and Akamaru could smell the agitation rising.

" Why do you ask?" inquired Akamaru's mother. She had a tense tone.

" Well, Akamaru and I noticed he kind of smells like a fox, and he has those tattoo's on his face that look like whiskers."

The adults, to the younger pups and humans confusion, all relaxed and sighed.

" No one really knows. The Uzamaki are not from this village. His mother was found by town pregnant and brought in. She died in childbirth." said Kiba's mother, going with the lie the Third had prepared.

" Oh." Kiba said, looking at his food. He wondered what had prompted all the tension just for that.

There was a light tapping on a window, making everyone jump. An Aburmae was standing outside. Kiba found that strange, since the bug user's came by only on rare occasion. Kiba's mother went to answer the door and went outside to talk. She came back in after a moment.

" Kids, pups, you all go to bed now. Everyone else, follow me." She seemed scared, which was odd. She was one of the clan leaders, and rarely showed such emotion. Kiba and Akamaru started towards the door.

" Kiba, you and Akamaru stay." his mother said.

" Mom! Were genin now! We're adults now!"

His mother looked uneasy for a moment, then sighed.

" You can come, but I have to tell you something first. I'm not supposed to, but given the situation, to hell with the law. Everyone lied about the Fourth killing the demon. Naruto, your teammate, had the Nine Tailed Fox sealed in him by the Fourth Hokage. That's why the villagers hate him. There has been a faction of the village that wants to kill the boy to destroy the fox forever, but the Third ordered them to not. Tonight, for some reason, they have decided to act. They are at the Hokage's tower, demanding the boy be killed. We're to go there and help the Aburmae prevent a civil war."

" Naruto…?" Kiba said blankly. His mother turned and joined the others, and he and Akamaru followed.

They arrived quickly. The crowd of villagers and ninja was huge and visibly drawn in two. The Aburmae took up positions on the rooftops. Kiba was with his mother, by the clan leaders for the Inuzuka and Aburmae. Seemingly from nowhere, a old man in black battle armor appeared on the steps of the Hokage's tower, and a moment later Kiba realized it was the Third.

---

Sarutobi had rarely been angry in recent years. However, as he walked down the stairs smoking his pipe, his fury could be felt by all the assembled.

" Tell me, Hiashi. Why tonight?" he asked in his regular tone.

" I have had enough. The boy is a danger to us all." Hiashi said boldly, facing the legendary ninja.

" Hiashi, chances are, I am going to kill you tonight if you and those supporting you do not immediately leave. With the support of several of the most powerful village clans, I believe my side would be victorious in the battle."

" The support." Hiashi sneered. " The Aburmae follow the leader of the village blindly, and the Inuzuka killed those in their pack that did not agree with you. The Yamanaka and Akimachi follow the Nara clan, the only ones who truly follow you. And yet, none of them obey the law any better than the Hyuuga. They warn their children against the boy and hate him, just as we do. The Hyuuga are the only clan strong enough to resist you."

" Quite true." said Sarutobi, flicking the ask from his pipe and putting it away. " But, they did obey the letter of the law, if not the spirit. That's all I can really ask for."

Sarutobi walked down several more steps until he was face to face with Hiashi.

" If there is a battle here tonight, the village will be crippled. We should send our subordinates home and deal with this manner ourselves."

" Behind closed doors? Your secrets and lies cripple this village, you old fool!" Hiashi shouted.

" I suppose I should differ to your judgment on that. You are the master of crippling things." Sarutobi smiled as confusion went over Hiashi's face. " Just a hour ago, you crippled your eldest daughter."

" What?" asked Hiashi, as the crowd looked to him in shock.

" Oh, when you beat her earlier. Your families healer and your younger daughter had to rush her to the hospital. They say they were able to replace her teeth, but you detached the nerve in her right eye. They're going to have to remove it."

Hiashi suddenly became aware of how far everyone had backed away from him. Whispers were echoing though the crowd.

" That is irrelevant to what is going on tonight." Hiashi said desperately.

" Your younger daughter also said you did so after she informed you Hinata was in love with Naruto, and deeply regrets doing so."

The Third smiled as the crowd completely turned against Hiashi.

" Besides, if you knew anything, the seal the Fourth used on Naruto grows stronger with the more chakra he possesses. Training him in combat only makes the Nine Tail's dungeon more vast and inescapable. Hiashi, with my authority as the village leader, I place you under arrest. The Hyuuga elder council will govern in his absence."

Hiashi didn't resist as four ANBU hauled him away.

---

Naruto was sitting in the cave outside of Kohona the ANBU had taken him to. He was still hungry.

" Hey, so what's going on? If it's an attack, I want to go help!" Naruto said impatiently.

" I'm sorry, we cannot tell you. Hokage's orders." said the female ANBU in a kind voice. Suddenly, Asuma appeared at the cave entrance.

" I'm here to relieve you." he said. The ANBU nodded and left. " Naruto, we have some things to discuss."

Naruto suddenly had the feeling he had done something very wrong. Asuma sat down and sighed. Naruto found it odd he had no cigarette.

" Hiashi, the leader of the Hyuuga clan, almost started a civil war tonight."

" What?" Naruto exclaimed. Asuma silenced him.

" He did so because he and his supporters demanded to have you killed." Naruto paled. " Don't worry, the situation has been dealt with and Hiashi arrested. The Third had to revoke the law surrounding you tonight, because otherwise half the village would have to be killed."

Naruto stared guiltily at the ground. Asuma hated the fact the boy seemed to feel blame for this.

" By tomorrow, all the children will know about the fox. They will still be unable to take action against you.."

" I'll leave the village." Naruto said quietly.

" No." Asuma said, forcing Naruto to look at him. " Five of the six most powerful clans in Kohona support the Third. We can keep the other side in check."

" I don't want you to. I don't want anyone to die for me."

Asuma stared at his student for a moment. The boy seemed to have aged decades. His face was etched with sadness and weariness.

" I'd rather you stay." said Kiba from the cave entrance. Akamaru barked friendlily from where he sit on Kiba's head.

" What?" Naruto said, dumbstruck.

" Akamaru tracked you down after we helped disperse the crowd. I'm glad he did. I don't want you to leave Kohona. Your our teammate and a friend."

" Your friend?" Naruto said, tears welling in his eyes.

" Yeah. I'm sorry we never hung out in school, but I thought you were just another loser like me. I wish I had. I feel bad now, knowing what you went though for years without anybody. I mean, knowing a little. I can't really imagine it. Anyways, we want to make up for that."

" I do to. I requested you as a student because I thought I could teach you well. I was a ruffian and a prankster as a kid too. But after finding out the hell you live in, I feel damn guilty not doing so years earlier."

It was awkward for Asuma, Kiba, and Akamaru, but Naruto burst into tears in front of them. He leaned forward and hugged Asuma, who, knowing nothing else to do, simply stayed still. Naruto stopped after a moment and looked to Kiba.

" Hey, hey, don't do that to me." Kiba said, rubbing the back of his head.

" Sorry, sorry." Naruto said, wiping a tear away.

Akamaru barked to Kiba, and he suddenly got a worried look on his face.

" Oh, yeah. Asuma-sensei, did you hear about Hinata?"

" No. What happened?" Asuma asked.

" Hiashi apparently injured her before starting everything."

" He what!?" Naruto and Asuma yelled, their surprise mirrored on each others faces.

---

Hinata woke in a bed. Her head felt terrible and there was some bandages over her eyes, so she didn't open it. Her mouth tasted like blood. The taste brought the memories of her father hitting her back. She grimaced, remembering the impact. She sat up.

" Hinata!" she heard Hanabi cry. " I'm so sorry! I never though father would act like that!"

" Its all right. I forgive you." Hinata said as her sister hugged her tightly. " I'm kind of glad you did. Now that father knows, I think I can tell Naruto-kun."

" Fathers been arrested. He tried to convince the villagers and Hokage to kill Naruto!"

Hinata was sure her face was dumbstruck.

" What happened? Did Naruto-kun get hurt?"

Hanabi told the whole story of the night as the doctors had told her. When she came to the end, Hinata lay back in her bed.

" I hope they kill father." Hinata said weakly, nearly choking on the words. " Naruto-kun is a kind, good person. He's brave and never loses confidence in himself. He deserves to live far more than father does."

" I agree." said Hanabi softly, surprising Hinata. Hanabi and her father had always been close, and Hinata had expected Hanabi to defend him. " I've been a horrible sister to you, but you are my sister. He should not have hurt you."

The sisters sat in silence, closer than they had ever been in their lives. Suddenly, the door burst open.

" Hinata!" called Naruto's voice as he clattered in. " I just heard! Are you okay?"

" I-I am, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, blushing and tapping her fingers.

" Why are your eyes bandaged?" Naruto asked, sounding concerned.

" I don't know. Hanabi, why are they?"

Hanabi sobbed loudly. She got herself under control after a minute.

" The doctors said when father hit you, he hurt part of your right eye. They had to take it out. They said your left one would work fine, but they bandaged it shut to keep you from trying to open your eyes."

" Oh." was all Hinata could say.

" Hinata…" Naruto trailed off, sounding like he was at a loss for words.

" Good to see you are awake." said the medic, entering. " I'm sorry if I came in at a bad time. Since you are awake, we can take the bandages off if you want."

Hinata did, though Hanabi and Naruto were worried. Hinata wanted to see, however. The doctor took the bandages off, telling her to open her eyes slowly and putting her in front of a mirror. Hinata did, and couldn't help but gasp.

There was a hole where her right eye had been. She could see fine out of the left one, but only half of the room.

" We'll have to seal the eye cavity, but we can wait a little."

Hinata closed her right eye. It didn't seem so bad like that. She turned back to her sister and Naruto.

" Naruto-kun…I'm sorry about how my father acted."

" Don't be! It wasn't your fault!" Naruto said, trying to sound comforting. " Tell you what! When you get out of here, we can go get you a eye-patch! We can get you a pink one, or some other color if you want."

" T-thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, blushing. Kiba and Asuma entered quietly. Akamaru ran over and jumped onto the bed and began to lick Hinata's hand, making her laugh. " Why are you here?" Hinata asked as she scratched Akamaru's ear.

" Well, your our teammate!" Kiba said. " Since we're like a pack, we have to make sure everyone is doing well! Plus, you're supposed to visit friends when they are in the hospital." Kiba said.

Tears welling up in her remaining eye, Hinata felt more acceptance than she had ever. A eye was a small price for gaining what she had today: friends and a sisters love.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Hinata had to stay in bed on the doctors orders, though she was fine. They wanted to make sure there were no traces of infections. Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto stayed with her all day, talking, laughing, and cheering her up. Hinata found that she was still unable to confess to Naruto. Late in the day, Hanabi came by with a eye patch for Hinata that she had made. It was made of soft white silk, and Naruto and Kiba said it made her look cool. Hinata, while her regular vision was impaired, found her Byakugan still functioned well, though it was tricky to channel chakra to only one eye. Around dinner, the others from Iruka's class came by.

" Hinata!" said Ino, rushing in. " We heard this morning."

" We couldn't come until now because we had to train." said Sakura, rushing forward. " Does it hurt?"

The girls were soon transported to the mysterious world the boys often saw them go to, completely oblivious as they talked about strange, girly things.

" Naruto." said Sasuke, walking over. " I was informed that the fox is sealed within you this morning."

" Yeah?" said Naruto, defensively. To his confusion, Sasuke stuck his hand out to shake Naruto's.

" I know you had little choice in the matter, but I want to thank you for protecting the village."

Naruto shook Sasuke's hand, shocked.

" This makes me respect you a little, but don't think its that much." said Sasuke, releasing the handshake and walking away.

Naruto just stood there, shocked at his rivals actions.

---

The next day, the genin all set to following lists of exercises Ashuma had given them. Hinata went on a long run during the morning, Naruto met with Asuma to begin Taijutsu practice, and Kiba and Akamaru, through heavy protests, read a book on chess. Combat practice went well. Hinata had some trouble when her Byakugan was not active since she had lost half her sight, but when it was she held the boys and Akamaru off all at once. Afterwards, they went off for chakra exercises. They all practices their individual jutsu, Hinata working on using Byakugan with one eye, Naruto doing academy-level chakra control exercises, and Kiba and Akamaru attempting the Human Beast Clone jutsu.

By the end of the week, the genin felt far improved. Hinata was able to run far longer and faster and had been able to nearly completely cope with the loss of her eye. Naruto's taijutsu and chakra control were at least passable now. With the shadow clones, he could match either of his team in combat. Kiba and Akamaru could only get their jutsu to work after several tries, but it was very good when it did. Fighting two stronger, faster Kiba's was a daunting task.

The most dramatic change, however, was in Hinata. When she woke every morning and saw her eye in the mirror, she felt a renewed drive to prove her father wrong for calling her useless. Coupled with the acceptance and praise of her friends, she drove herself far harder then she had ever before, and was even managing to carry herself with the pride her clan was supposed to. Things were tense for the Hyuuga, with their recent near treachery against the village and the fact that their leader was jailed, but Hinata ignored all her family save her sister.

The villagers seemed tenser around Naruto, but he ignored it. The children seemed afraid of him now, but his classmates were much nicer to him. Sakura-chan had even smiled to him once.

To the amazement of Kiba and Asuma, Naruto seemed unable to discover that Hisasi had beaten Hinata because she loved him. They kept it quiet, leaving it to Hinata to reveal. Unfortunately, while Hinata was bolder and more confident now, she returned to her blushing, nervous state when talking to Naruto.

---

" All right, sensei, you said we were doing something special today!"

Naruto had become impatient with the training already, constantly pestering Ashuma about going on missions. Asuma said that they would not go on missions until the third week. How ever he had hinted about the group training they were going to do today.

" Yeah, we are. We're going to meet with the other genin teams for a group practice session. This is your chance to show off how awesome you are."

Naruto cheered, and Asuma felt a little guilty. While Kiba was dumber, Naruto was incredibly easy to bait.

---

Twenty minutes later they arrived at the training ground Guy had made them agree on.

" Hey, Naruto…do you see that?" Kiba asked.

" Yeah." Naruto said.

They had spotted Guy and Lee. Asuma had a little laugh to himself. Most people had a similar reaction. The two were nearly identical, and the matching spandex made them the epitome of creepy. Kurenai and the trio were there already, as were Kakashi and his students. They, like their jounin, seemed bored, like they had been dragged here unwillingly.

" Hey!" Ten-Ten said, waving to Hinata. Hinata smiled politely back. She had met the girl a time or two before. She was nice, but a bit of a battle axe. Hinata thought about the phrase for a moment. With her obsession with weapons, she'd probably like being called that.

She also spotted Neji, who glared back, though not as hatefully as normally. The recent events probably made him see her less as a spoiled member of the main house, which was the main reason he disliked her. However, his hatred of the main house remained.

" Asuma! It is good to see you!" Guy said, prancing over. Asuma cringed at the sight. A grown man…especially one as powerful as Guy acting like that was just wrong.

" Good to see you to, Guy. I see you managed to drag Kakashi in." Asuma smiled to Kurenai as Guy's attention returned to Kakashi. Before it could go to far, Kakashi reminded everyone why they were here.

" So, what were we going to do for this group training?" he asked.

" I had originally thought that it would allow our students to spar against a variety of opponents and styles." Guy said, taking his thoughtful pose. " I also think giving our students a chance to fight against a number of opponents at once would be good practice for bad combat situations."

Asuma decided not to mention how Naruto's shadow clones already let his group do that.

" All right, everyone pair up with someone from another group." Kurenai said. The genin followed the forceful woman's command.

---

Naruto found the fights against everyone quite fun. He got to fight Ino and Shikamaru, who weren't as good as he was at hand to hand, giving him the rare opportunity to win. Against Ten-Ten and Shino, though, it was back to being knocked down again and again. Shino wasn't so bad, but Ten-Ten was lighting fast and way stronger than most girls. Finally, he found himself face to face with the green clad boy. He'd seen him fight the others and knew the boy was tough. He'd beaten Sasuke with ease. However, the boys pleasant and laughing demeanor would mean he would be fun to practice against.

" All right!" Naruto said, walking over to Lee. " You ready?"

Naruto had gotten many looks of hatred in his life. Lee's, however, rivaled the best of them. Usually that would not have surprised him, but since the others all seemed more understanding towards him, he was unprepared.

Before he knew it, Lee and buried his knee into Naruto's stomach hard.

Naruto coughed and sputtered. Lee had already backed up and retaken his combat stance. Naruto doubled over, fighting the urge to throw up.

" Lee…what the hell…"

Bam. Another hit came, this time a sweeping kick that knocked him from his feet. Naruto landed heavily and promptly began to vomit. Naruto was aware that everyone was looking at him and the jounin were rushing over, but couldn't do anything but heave.

" Lee! What happened!" Guy asked.

" Naruto-kun was unable to block two attacks. I believe I may have injured him." Lee said, a unusual detachment in his voice. Asuma had heard the boy before. Usually he was as enthusiastic as Guy. However, when he noticed the look in Lee's eyes, it became obvious.

Hinata stood nearby. It was fortunate for her she was pair with Ino, who had the worst Taijutsu of the lot. She was barely paying attention, focused on Naruto. She wanted to race over and see if he was all right, but she knew she had to practice. Still, seeing Naruto hurt so badly frightened her.

A few minutes later Naruto was able to stand. Everyone switched partners again, putting Naruto with Sakura. He still needed a break, so they sat it out. Sakura took the time to watch Sasuke adoringly. Naruto's stomach was still bothering him, so he walked over to Hinata.

" Hey Hinata?" he asked. She and Choji stopped their fight.

" Y-yes, Naruto-kun?"

" Do you have anything for a upset stomach? That burn stuff worked so well, I bet anything you have will make me feel better in no time."

Hinata rifled though her belt pouch before she found a small vial of resin. She had found out it settled the stomach, so she had added it to her kit.

" T-take this." she said, handing Naruto the vial. He opened it and swallowed in one gulp. He stood for a moment, dealing with the oily taste. He burped loudly.

" Man, Hinata, your good with that stuff!" Naruto handed the vial back. Hinata quietly nodded and took it.

---

" We are now going to have you fight while outnumbered." Kurenai said, addressing the genin. " Naruto and Sasuke, you two are first. You stay here in the clearing. Everyone else, head out of the clearing and prepare to attack them."

Naruto and Sasuke nodded to each other. The amount of unspoken communication in that single instant between them was almost terrifying to Kurenai.

---

Five minutes later, the jounin were surveying the damage. It had been a slaughter, but not in the way they had expected.

Sasuke and Naruto seemed to have meshed perfectly and instantly. Despite Shikamaru coordinating the other genin in an attack, Naruto and Sasuke had had a better plan. Naruto summoned nearly fifty clones, distracting the others, while Sasuke moved from target to target, taking the openings the clones created. Asuma knew that Neji, Ten-Ten, and Lee had held out their most powerful abilities, but since they were all Taijutsu types, being matches by Sasuke and Naruto's coordinated hand to hand assaults was embarrassing.

Sasuke, under Kakashi's tutelage, had activated the first level of his Sharingan. With it he had hypnotized Guy's students rather then fight them head on. While the Genjutsu was only strong enough to hold for seconds, Naruto-clones would deliver heavy attacks while they were vulnerable.

Choji, Ino, and Shikamaru had attacked, using the Human Boulder Jutsu to try and scatter the clones before attempting to capture Sasuke with the Mind Transfer and Shadow Possession techniques. However, clones had intercepted them, making the attacks wastes of time. Kiba, Hinata, and Shino had done the best. The bug user sent forward a cloud of insects, but Sasuke had before a variation of his fire jutsu which created a cloud of smoke, forcing the insects to retreat into Shino. However, this had been a distraction. Kiba and Akamaru raced in while he did so for an attack, but a squad of Naruto clones grappled him down. However, they had held Hinata out in expectation of this. She went in a last ditch, desperate attack trying to get to Sasuke. Her Jyuuken strikes allowed her to defeat clones in a single strike, but while she had been dealing with one Sasuke had delivered a nerve strike to her shoulders, making her unable to use her arms.

The genin all needed a long time to recuperate. Naruto had drawn a massive amount of chakra and was in rough shape, while Sasuke's extended use of the Sharingan has physically exhausted his body.

" They certainly are a impressive pair." Kakashi said.

" Indeed. Together, their youth burns most fiercely." Guy said in agreement.

" Well, it makes sense. As rivals, they know each other well. It's kind of like watching you and Kakashi in battle." Asuma said to Guy. Guy beamed while Kakashi's one visible eye rolled.

" Hey Sasuke…good job." Naruto wheezed. Sasuke groaned a response back.

Hinata and Kiba exchanged looks, both thinking the same thing. Naruto's skills were usually on par with theirs, but with Sasuke, he was seemingly unstoppable. Their every move had been outguessed, even with the unknown factors of all the other genin added in.

" Were going to have to train harder, Akamaru." Kiba said, petting the tired dog. Akamaru whimpered in agreement.

" I think so to, Kiba-kun." Hinata said.

" All right, everyone! Lets try this again, same groups! I want to see how this goes." Kurenai said. Everyone groaned and took their positions.

Several minutes later, Shikamaru had the genin brought together again.

" Why are we listening to you? Your plan worked so well last time." Kiba said, sarcastically.

" Do you have a better idea?" Shikamaru responded irately.

Kiba seemed at a loss, but Sakura spoke up.

" Well, since having Naruto distract us and keep Sasuke safe while Sasuke beat us was their plan, which worked perfectly, they will probably try it again. We need to distract Naruto while we beat Sasuke-kun, if we can."

" How?" Shikamaru said, bored.

" Genjutsu. Kaka-sensei told me I was a Genjutsu type, so I did a little studying. I can try to make Naruto and Sasuke believe the other had been hit with shuriken."

As Kiba and Hinata watched, the two brainy ninja schemed and plotted. It suddenly made her realize she had never thought that much about strategy as she should have. She felt the feeling of inadequacy rising again and crushed it without mercy. She was tired of that feeling.

" Right then. Everyone know your role?" Sakura asked. Everyone nodded.

Neji, Ten-Ten, and Lee were to make another attack like they had the first time as a distraction. Meanwhile, Sakura would be preparing the Genjutsu. It took her a while, she said, so Ino and Shino would guard her. Shikamaru and Choji would wait for their chance and go after Sasuke when the Genjutsu was finished, while Hinata and Kiba ( "and Akamaru!" Kiba added.) would neutralize all the Naruto clones they could.

They all broke and headed towards the clearing on their designated routes. When they arrived at the clearing, Sasuke stood in it, alone.

" Hinata, can you find him?" Kiba whispered. Hinata activated her Byakugan.

There were clones secreted throughout the trees around the clearing. Sakura's group was going to be detected and attacked when they got there.

" Kiba, send Akamaru to where find Sakura and warn her off."

Kiba raced off though the forest at Kiba's command. When Sakura's group arrived with Akamaru, they moved in cautiously, staying hidden from the clones. When Neji's group attacked from the other side, Sasuke turned his attention towards them. Several Naruto clones broke position to aid. However, the older genin knew to avoid looking in Sasuke's eyes this time and were not defeated. Suddenly, Sasuke and Naruto cried out.

" No!" Their voiced mingled as the Genjutsu took effect.

Believing the other had been wounded severely, Sasuke and the Naruto clones changed tactics. They knelt down as if to pick up a body and raced off. Most of the Naruto clones engaged Guy's genin while one escaped with what it thought was Sasuke's body. Choji and Shikamaru took this chance to try and capture Sasuke. He dodged Shikamaru's shadow, however, and delivered a heavy kick to Choji's head, knocking him over.

Hinata and Kiba raced out to deal with the leftover Naruto clones. Hinata found them with her Byakugan while Kiba hunted them down with his nose. They clones were distracted and scrambled, so they were easily defeated. Ino, Sakura, and Shino joined the chase after Naruto.

" Kiba, with us! Hinata, help Sakura!" Shikamaru shouted. They complied, joining the chase.

Kiba's nose allowed him to follow Sasuke with ease towards where the jounin were waiting. When they arrived, he seemed hysterical, pointing to a blank spot on the ground.

" Sasuke, Naruto isn't there." Kakashi said, voice laden with exasperation.

" Why the hell are you pretending that! He's dying! There are a dozen shuriken in his chest! We need to get him to the hospital now!"

" Kurenai-sensei, he's under a Genjutsu." Kurenai sighed for a moment and formed the hand seals to dispel it. A look for shock went over Sasuke's face and he fell to his knees.

" I thought…I thought…" he mumbled, looking uncharacteristically at a loss.

" Sakura thought we could use a Genjutsu to trick you and Naruto. It worked too well I guess." said Shikamaru, scratching the back of his head.

" Sakura must have done a good job." Kurenai said, impressed.

" Um, if Sasuke bought it, I bet Naruto won't figure it out either." Kiba interjected, worried. " We should go make sure things are all right."

Kurenai and Kiba raced off.

---

Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He knew that Neji and Lee were jerks. Lee hated him, and from what Hinata had said, Neji was a angry, mean spirited person. He never imagined, though, that they'd try to kill Sasuke.

He'd ran and hidden in the forest. He should have ran to the jounin, he realized, but now it was too late and he didn't think Sasuke could be moved. He'd removed the shuriken and tried to bandage the wounds, but he couldn't get the bandages to stay on.

" Ha!" said Sakura, appearing from the treetops with Shino, Ino, and Hinata. " Found you!"

" Hinata! Sasuke's hurt! I tried…I couldn't get the bandages on!" Naruto said pleadingly. Sakura released the Genjutsu, and Naruto startled as Sasuke disappeared.

" What the hell?" Naruto said, perplexed.

" It was a illusion. Sakura created it to trick you." Everyone looked to the bug user, who had spoken.

" Oh." said Naruto. " That was really cool, Sakura-chan!"

Only Hinata, with all she knew of Naruto, realized how he hid his emotions behind the smile he put on. The Hyuuga were trained to hide their emotions and Hinata had seen many skilled practitioners of this art, and she could honestly say Naruto was one of the best.

They headed back at met with Kurenai and Kiba shortly after.

" All right, Naruto! We got you!" Kiba said, grinning widely.

" There were ten of you." Naruto jabbed. " Since it took all of you, I'm not too impressed."

" Aw, shut up." Kiba said, laughing.

They arrived back in the clearing to find the other jounin and genin assembled. Kiba noticed Naruto and Sasuke exchange glances. Kurenai addressed the genin.

" So, what did you all learn today?"

" That me and Sasuke are an awesome team!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. " Even if he is a moody jerk."

Sakura hit Naruto.

" Naruto, be quiet! Anyone could do well along side a wonderful ninja like Sasuke-kun!"

" Close, yet not even close." Kurenai said, grabbing the bridge of her nose like she had a headache.

" Sensei?" said Hinata, raising her hand. She felt everyone's attention turn to her, and couldn't help herself.

" W-we learned…that in groups o-our a-abilities are stronger." Hinata said, shrinking in stature. She couldn't help it. Even with all her endeavors to become more like Naruto, she still was the shy girl she had always been. Today had gone better, but now she seemed to have fully regressed.

" Correct." said Kurenai, smiling. " Sasuke and Naruto do make a good team because of their abilities. Naruto's ability to keep everyone busy while Sasuke beat you, one by one, was a powerful combination. However, when everyone attacked again with a different plan, they were defeated. You are put onto teams like this so that your skills can complement each others."

" Then Naruto and Sasuke should be put on the same team." stated Shino.

" Well, they had another advantage. Since your side had more people, you had to cordinate and avoid interfering with each other, which required extra attention. Say we put Lee and Sakura on a team."

Lee smiled and gave Sakura a thumbs up.

" Lee could protect Sakura long enough for her to use a Genjutsu against you. It could conceal Lee, making it impossible for you to see where he was attacking from. Shino and Shikamaru are another example. Shino's bugs could drain your chakra, which would make it harder to dodge and resist shadow possession. While these matches may work, however, your teams are put together even better."

" Lee, Ten-Ten, and Neji are Taijutsu types." Guy said, looking unusually focused. " Lee and Neji are powerful hand to hand combatants, while Ten-Ten's long range techniques prevent opponents from simply keeping them at bay. Neji can also see though Genjutsu with his Byakugan, which makes is impossible to use Genjutsu against them. You have to fight on their terms."

" Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji are the third generation of a famous combination." followed Kurenai. " Ino and Shikamaru's techniques prevent enemies from escaping. Combined with Choji's clan techniques, which are devastating but easy to dodge, it gives them the ability to neutralize unusually powerful opponents and do heavy damage."

Kakashi, after a nudge from Asuma, spoke next. " Sakura, Shino, and Sasuke have a unique combination. Sakura's Genjutsu and Sasuke's Ninjutsu lets them distract opponents and hit them with powerful, damaging attacks. Sasuke's Taijutsu also allows him to protect Sakura as she prepares the Genjutsu. However, Genjutsu does not work if the opponent has more chakra than Sakura does. Shino is able to drain chakra, eliminating that weakness. Since they are also each highly intelligent, they can prepare plans and new combinations quickly."

" And what about us?" Kiba asked impatiently.

" You three have a completely different style than the groups." Asuma said before taking a long drag of his cigarette. " They play off each other strength. You three compensate for the each other weaknesses. Hinata's clans attacks lack power, but rarely miss. Kiba's clan attacks are hard to aim, but do massive damage. And Naruto's chakra reserves and clones lets him engage a large number of opponents at once, while Kiba and Hinata's skills are more one on one."

" So we are weak?" Hinata said, crestfallen.

" No. Your each strong, but your styles have a weakness." Asuma said, patting her shoulder.

" Right! Now for the real training! Twenty laps around Kohona!" Guy shouted as he ran off.

" Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee cheered adoringly, leaping up and following his teacher. A moment later they were out of earshot.

" Don't worry, they don't notice. We skip the runs every time." Ten-Ten looked embarrassed. Everyone else, however, sighed in relief.

" Oh, one last thing. Ino, Sakura, Ten-Ten, and Hinata, we have some extra training to do." The girls all looked to Kurenai, who looked serious. " Follow me." Kurenai walked in towards the town.

Naruto was about to ask when Asuma shushed him.

" But I want to know what's going on!" Naruto whined. Kiba walked next to him and nodded.

" No, you really don't. Kunochi stuff is best to stay out of. You might learn some things that will scare you." Asuma shuddered theatrically. " Besides, we got something cool next."

" What? What?" Naruto asked, jumping up and down with excitement. Kakashi rolled his one visible eye.

" Half price barbeque at my favorite restaurant!" Asuma said, smiling broadly and taking out a coupon. The boys all groaned from let down, except for Choji, who was hugging Asuma so tightly Asuma was sure he had a cracked rib.

" You are the best sensei ever!" Choji exclaimed loudly.

---

" Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura asked. " I thought we were going to train."

" We are."

" So why did you take us to the a fancy bathhouse?"

Kurenai sighed and slipped deeper into the warm water. The girls were all soaking in a private bath in the most expensive spring in Kohona. Kurenai had paid for it all out of pocket so she would have the chance to drill her lesson into their heads.

" Do your noses work?" she asked.

" What kind of question is that?" Ino asked.

" Back at the training ground, I got a wiff of you all. You smelled like the boys."

Ino and Sakura's face fell, but to Kurenai's surprise, Ten-Ten and Hinata didn't seem concerned.

" Yeah? So? We had spent half the day fighting. Its not like we had a chance to wash up." As Ten-Ten finished her retort, the girls face's lit up.

" I see you understand. One of the most useful tricks for a kunochi is to disguise herself as a regular woman. You need to know how to make sure you can…smell pretty and look good." Kurenai struggled to get the last words out, and their was obvious distain in her voice. " It can be useful for blending in to get closer to your target or escaping pursuit. Its hard to do that when your covered with grime and sweat."

" So, what's your point? We would go for a bath after training anyways." Ten-Ten said bluntly.

" I am talking about more than just general hygiene. I have a list of jutsu for you to learn to do thinks from create a simple illusion on your face to repairing your clothes."

" Sensei?" Hinata asked, sounding only slightly timid.

" Yes Hinata?"

" Since I am missing my eye, will it be more difficult to do this?"

The other girls cringed slightly. They had all tried to not mention the eye patch all day for fear that it would be a sensitive topic.

" Yes, yes it will. The genjutsu to make it appear as if your face is clean is tricky because it is designed to be hard to notice. Altering it to make it seem as if your eye was normal would be too much for it. You'd need a higher level, and more demanding, jutsu for that." Kurenai said, a sympathetic look in her eye.

" Thank you sensei. I have another question."

" What is it?"

" If it is not too much trouble, I was hoping you could help me find out how I can begin learning medical jutsu. Asuma-sensei said I have a natural talent for it. I read about medic-nin and found out that most teams have at least one person with medical jutsu. Since my bloodline is weak and damaged, I though it would be best to start learning some other skills."

" It won't be a problem. I will get a few basic scrolls from my library and give them to Asuma."

" Thank you, Kurenai-sensei."

Hinata was reminded of her mother when Kurenai smiled at her sweetly.


	3. Chapter 3

" What is your plan for my incarceration?" asked Hiashi as the Third paced around the room. He had been brought by ANBU to a part of the prisons he was unaware of. The room was featureless save for a single door and several holes in the ceiling. He had been placed in a chair with chakra reinforced restraints so he could not move.

" Oh, that really depends on you. " the Third said as he puffed his pipe. " For betraying the village and almost causing the trouble you did, you are going to die."

Hiashi laughed long and deep.

" You would dare to execute the head of the Hyuuga? My clan…"

" The elders support my decision. You've blotted the clans honor. If the incident was not enough, the story of you beating your daughter has circulated widely. There's not a person in the village that doesn't know. Your daughter ignores it and has began wearing a rather attractive eye patch, or so I hear Naruto told her."

Sarutobi smiled as Hiashi gritted his teeth, imagining his daughter and the boy.

" What your option's are, Hiashi, are to be useful or not. Before you die, we could have medic's remove your eyes for safe keeping. The Hyuuga would likely be happy to have transplants available. Your bloodlines power doesn't weaken with just one, but it takes far more chakra and control. We would likely be able to heal your daughter."

" No." Hiashi replied, voice dripping with hatred.

" The Hyuuga are famous for their cold demeanors, which you take to a new level. Perhaps this will make your stay in hell more bearable."

Sarutobi walked to the door and opened, standing and looking at Hiashi.

" What?! Is that it!" Hiashi shouted. He was distracted by a slight buzzing. He looked up to the sound's source. From the holes in the ceiling, bugs he recognized as the Aburmae clans were pouring in.

" The Aburmae and Inuzuka clans allegiance to the village is different than all other clans. The Inuzuka have the trait of their dogs and prefer packs. As long as the village is large and prosperous, they will stay. The Aburmae stay for a similar reason, desiring the safety of the hive, but also the rare opportunity to feast. There is a difference between having your chakra drained by their bugs and having it all consumed. Your reserves are impressive and will feed them well."

The Third tried to drown out Hiashi's screams as he walked past the motionless Aburmae and nervous ANBU.

---

Naruto spun, but it was too late. Kiba landed the punch, knocking him off his feet.

" Good job, Kiba. That's eight wins for Kiba, two for Naruto." Asuma said, walking over and helping Naruto up.

" He's just so fast!" Naruto whined loudly. " How am I supposed to beat that without clones?"

" Naruto, the better your Taijutsu is, the better your clones will fight. Kiba's speed and strength are formidable, but don't worry. With practice you will be able to predict his moves. Now try it again."

Hinata watched from where she was resting, looking up from the medical jutsu scroll. It was the day after the group training and Kurenai, true to her word, had provided the scrolls. The jutsu were highly complex and Hinata knew it was going to be a while before she could manage more than small cuts and bruises.

Since they were going on a mission that afternoon, Asuma decided they would do combat training in the morning. Hinata had gone first, since her stamina was the worst in the group and she would need longer to rest. She had to keep her Byakugan active during fights at all time now, which put her and Kiba on roughly even levels as long as her chakra held out. Kiba's strength and speed was above chunnin level according to Asuma, but the Byakugan gave her the ability to predict his moves with ease. Naruto, on the other hand, was only of average speed and strength. Hinata and Kiba could beat him with ease as long as no shadow clones were involved.

" All right, that's enough. Its time for the mission."

The genin stood up eagerly and followed Asuma towards the Hokage's tower.

" So what kind of mission are we going to get?" asked Kiba. Akamaru yipped a bark that they had learned was a inquiry, eager as his human partner. Hinata had to stifle a giggle. Kiba was letting Akamaru ride in his coat, which she found incredibly cute, though the dog tried to look important and tough.

" Well, you're a genin team. You will, for now, be getting D rank missions. They will be more like chores around the village."

" What? But we're ninja! That's a waste of our abilities!" Naruto complained.

" Well, the village needs these things done and your going to do them without complaining." Asuma said with a sigh. Naruto folded his arms in a sign of discontent. Kiba and Akamaru looked similarly put off.

" My team is reporting, dad." Asuma said, opening the door to the Hokage's office.

" Good. Come in." said the Third.

As they entered Hinata saw the look pity from the Third and his aides. She blushed and looked down. She was starting to get uncomfortable with he sympathy people were showing towards her. The Third distracted himself by looking through the mission files.

" We have a few jobs that I think could interest you. The cat's gone missing again, which would be a good start, but you could also help the Yamanaka family repair one of their greenhouses."

" Lets take them both. Naruto, Hinata, you two go for the repair while Kiba, Akamaru, and I catch the cat."

" Best mission ever!" Akamaru barked. Kiba nodded in agreement vigorously.

" Won't it be harder for you to finish without a full team?" The Third asked exasperatedly. He should have known his son would try something like this.

" Well, two people and a dog will be more than enough to catch a cat, and with Naruto's shadow clones, the Yamanaka will have a pretty large workforce. I don't think it will be a problem."

" Mm." replied the Third, handing them the mission documents.

Outside, the team split up.

" See you later sensei!" Naruto called as he ran off towards the Yamanaka's flower shop. Hinata bowed politely, but followed quickly.

" All right sensei! What's this cat look like?" Kiba asked, putting Akamaru down.

" It's a large white one with long hair and a red collar."

" Hey! That's number eighty two! Me and Akamaru treed it this morning! Come on, lets get it!"

Asuma sighed as Kiba and Akamaru raced off.

---

" Here it is!" said Naruto, pointing to the large, obvious sign on the Yamanaka Flower Shop. It had a closed sign on the door, so Hinata knocked. A moment later, a thin blonde woman that had to be Ino's mother answered.

" We were sent to help with your repairs." Hinata said politely. The woman stared at the eye patch for a moment, but looked away with a smile.

" Come on in. Ino and my husband are out back."

They followed the woman to the back of the house into a large garden.

" Hinata!" said Ino, waving as she saw them. She was standing by a glass structure with several large broken parts. It looked like someone had fallen through it several times.

" Hello, Ino." Hinata said as she walked up. A tall man that Hinata recognized as the head of the Yamanaka clan came out and greeted them. He put Hinata to work with Ino re-potting the plants that had nearly died when the greenhouse had been broken and had the Naruto Squad help him replace the glass. The potting was dirty work, but it was relatively easy.

" So Hinata," said Ino, making conversation. " How'd you manage to get a mission alone withy your _boyfriend_?" The stress on the last word was teasing.

" Naruto-kun…is not my boyfriend…" Hinata said, blushing and cursing her inability to tell him.

" Your kidding." Ino's face was plastered with shock. " But isn't that why…but that's the rumor going around the village…"

" Yes. " Hinata said. Ino seemed to be having trouble referring to Hiashi's assault. " I haven't worked up the courage to tell Naruto-kun."

" Your worried he will turn you down because he has that crush on Sakura, right?" Ino's guess was accurate, so Hinata nodded. " Well then, it looks like you need some help."

" What are you going to…"

" Don't worry. Sakura and I will help you break it to him. No offense, but he's kinda thick headed, so I think being blunt might be best."

" Cat!" Everyone's head snapped upward in surprise as Kiba and Akamaru came flying out of nowhere, sailing towards the garden. They then noticed a large white cat scampering across the top of the greenhouse.

" No!" cried Ino's father, but it was too late. Akamaru landed on the glass and bounded off, but Kiba fell though with a crash.

" Get it! Get it get it get it!" Kiba yelled to Akamaru, who was barking crazily. Before anyone could react Kiba leapt though the hole he had just made in the glass.

" Hey! Hey!" Asuma came running up, wheezing heavily. " Kiba…idiot…"

---

After Kiba and Akamaru had caught the cat and been caught, Asuma made him pay the Yamanaka family for the damages. The work on the greenhouse had gone quickly, and the evening was only beginning when they finished.

" Thanks for the help." Ino said as she showed Naruto and Hinata out. " Otherwise I would have had to stay home from training tomorrow as well."

" Thanks Ino!" Naruto said while smiling brightly. " Lets go get paid Hinata!"

" S-sure Naruto-kun." As Naruto and Hinata raced off, Hinata glance back at Ino, who winked. She wanted to know what the girl was planning.

At the Hokage's tower they were given their payment, which was a small amount of cash. It was only a little pocket money, but Naruto lit up brightly.

" Ramen time! Hey Hinata, you want to get some ramen?"

Hinata blushed deeply at the question. She knew he didn't mean more than for them to have dinner, but in front of the Third and his aids it was rather embarrassing.

" Y-yes, Naruto-kun, if that's all right with you."

" Of course! First bowls on me!"

---

Naruto was having a good day.

Sure, the mission was a let down. But Ino's family had been rather nice to him. It was refreshing to have complete strangers treat him well. It was also great to have enough money for several bowls of ramen. He wouldn't have to wiggle out of paying or wait for Iruka for once.

" Ahh!" he said, setting down his fifth bowl. " I'll have a shrimp one next!"

The old man smiled and set to work. Hinata looked on at Naruto in awe. She was still on her first, which was a normal portion. Naruto was eating double sized portions at lighting speed. Hinata didn't think that a person other than a Akimachi could eat like that.

" Hey." said Kiba, walking up sourly. He took a seat by them.

" Hey Kiba! Did you get paid?" Naruto asked before slurping down a large mouthful.

" No. Me and Akamaru actually owe money. Glass is way more expensive than I thought it was."

Kiba and Akamaru's stomachs rumbled in tandem. They both looked down at the same time, both looking pitiful. This was too much for the old man, Naruto, and Hinata. They burst out laughing.

" You guys…ha ha…how do you two do that?" Naruto said, wiping a tear from his eyes and getting off of the ground. Hinata hid her smile behind her hands, but the telltale sounds of concealed laughing came from behind them.

" Do what?" Kiba spoke as Akamaru yipped, causing everyone to burst out again.

" I think you two might be spending too much time together, Kiba-kun." Hinata forced out between giggles.

" Anyways, Kiba." Naruto said, getting himself under control. " You want some ramen? I'll pay."

" I'll do it, Naruto-kun. I have more money left." Hinata said, handing the money to the old man. Naruto smiled at her thankfully, making her blush, before returning to his meal.

Later they said goodbye and everyone went their respective ways. Naruto got back to his apartment in record time. He entered, tossed off his jacket, and plopped down on the couch.

" Life is good." Naruto said to no one at all.

---

The Hyuuga family had been assembled in the manor meeting hall. It was rare for the entire family to do so, but the elders said they had something important to announce. Hinata and Hanabi took their seats by each other. Their fathers seat at the head of the elders was noticeably empty.

" Hyuuga Hiashi is dead, executed for his dissent." one elder stated. A muted hush went over the assembled. " We fully condoned it, and their shall be no further discussion or pursuit of the issue. "

Hinata didn't know why, but a cold feeling crept over her. It was not the feeling of loss, though it was similar. Much of her was glad her father was gone, but parts of her reminded her she was her father and deserved some mourning.

" Our clan's law states that the role as the clan leader now falls to Hinata. Hinata, please take your seat."

Hinata stood and walked to the seat. She could feel the eyes of the family on her. She met Neji's gaze and saw the hate in it was far more intense then she had ever seen.

" As the clan leader, the scroll of seals falls to your possession." The elder handed her a old looking scroll. She recognized it as her fathers. The jutsu that activated the branch family seals was on it. She opened it and read the technique. Everyone in the room waited with bated breath. There were many who had treated her with disdain, and the chance to strike back at them would be tempting. Thanks to the jutsu, she could now kill or torture any of them at will, making her stronger then them in a way.

The jutsu was not complex, but it would not have been useable had the scroll not explained it. Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked to a person in the front row, focusing on the seal. He tensed visually and everyone leaned away from him. Hinata saw the embedded chakra, and for the first time knew how to activate the strands. It would only require her to focus on the chakra with her Byakugan for a second. She deactivated her Byakugan and rolled the scroll up. The clansman sighed and relaxed in his seat.

" As you are underage, the clan elders will rule in your stead. However, at the age of eighteen, you will take over your duties as the clan leader."

After that the family was dismissed. Hinata went to her fathers study, which was now hers. The room had a seal on it that would activate the seal of any branch family member who entered, which made it private to Hinata. Since her father had done all his work with the council, there was very little clutter. She placed the scroll in its box and shut it. There was another chakra seal on the box to shut it, which she activated as well.

She inspected the room, which she had rarely been allowed into. There was a large library of the clan's training manuals, as well as four jutsu scrolls. The first detailed Jyuuken, the second the Divine Sixty-Four Strikes, and the third the creation of the branch family seal. The fourth, however, was the Heavenly Spin technique, which only the head of the Hyuuga clan was allowed to know.

Jyuuken was the basic technique of the family and the one clan jutsu she had mastered. At her age she should have been capable of the Divine Sixty-Four Strikes, but she found Taijutsu techniques hard to use. She didn't need or want to create another clan seal, so se ignored that scroll. However, the Heavenly Spin jutsu was her clans ultimate technique and, from what she read, more of a chakra attack than a physical attack. It required precise chakra control, which was the one part of her training she had excelled in. The technique made the medical jutsu look simple, however. She knew she had a lot of work before her before she could manage to use either. Looking over the room, which seemed to have the lingering essence of her father in it, she vowed to master the Heavenly Spin.

First, however, she took out the medical jutsu scrolls and set to work on them.

---

" I'm home!" Akamaru barked as he bounded though the dog door, Kiba squeezing in behind him.

" Good timing. It's time for dinner." replied Kiba's mother. " So, how did you day go?"

" You won't believe the mission we got! We got paid to chase down cat number eighty two!"

" Really?" asked a younger Inuzuka. " I want to be a ninja now so I can do that."

" How much did you make?" inquired Kiba's mother.

" Actually…we owe money. I fell though the Yamanaka's greenhouse again."

Akamaru and Kiba sat and pouted as their families laughed at them.

Another week of training went by and Asuma had to swear, he had never seen students work as hard as his.

Kiba and Akamaru sparred constantly against scores of Naruto's, the former perfecting the Human Beast Clone while the later improved his shadow clones. Having acquired average chakra control, Naruto could now manage almost three hundred clones. He could also control the chakra's backlash much better now.

Hinata sparred occasionally, but she spent most of her time practicing her jutsu. Asuma was not surprised when, giving his genin a test, Hinata turned out to be a Ninjutsu type. Years of valuable time had been wasted by her father focusing her on the clans famous Taijutsu techniques. While she was quite capable and could progress further, her power could increase more easily though Ninjutsu.

As they had guessed, she had shown natural affinity for healing jutsu. After only a few days she was capable of using the Mystical Palm to heal small injuries. The progression past that would take years of practice, but Asuma would not have been surprised if she did it faster.

Seeing how Hinata had mastered a new technique, the boys set to working even hard, not wanting to be outdone. Kiba attempted the Piercing Fang, though it was obvious it would be a while before it would be combat ready. Naruto, with characteristic single mindedness, went on improving his clones. They had also completed three more missions, working as a group now. Kiba had paid his debt off with the others help, though Naruto had told Kiba he had to buy him ramen a few times before they were even.

The day of the group training had come again, and everyone headed to the training grounds.

" I hope I don't have to fight that Rock Lee jerk again." Naruto grumbled.

" He didn't seem that bad to me. Friendly, but weird." Kiba replied, perplexed. Asuma had gone ahead and Hinata was buried in a jutsu scroll, so they only could talk to each other.

" I think it's the Kyuubi. " Naruto said with a pout.

" Oh. Well, if that's it, he's a ass. I'll try and get a few hits in to soften him up." Akamaru woofed.

" Thank?" said Naruto, scratching the back of his head.

" Hey! Your late!" called Asuma as they walked into the training ground. The other teams were there already, though Kakashi was absent.

" Sorry, sorry." Naruto said, waving. Rock Lee's signature smile turned downwards, prompting Ten-Ten to look at him oddly.

" Yosh! Now that everyone is here, begin testing your youthfulness!"

Though they didn't want to obey Guy, they all set to the warm up sparing. Kiba was against Lee first.

" Yosh! Here I come!" Lee cried, rushing Kiba. Akamaru bounded off to flank while Kiba completed the Four Leg's jutsu, taking off towards Lee. They all met with a crash, and much wailing upon each other began.

" Don't worry, Hinata." said Ino as Hinata blocked a punch. " Sakura and I have good idea." Hinata gulped as she knocked another strike away, hoping she could get though the plan with some dignity left.

WHAP! Sasuke knocked Naruto head over heels again. Naruto leapt to his feet and charged back in. That was one thing he liked about Sasuke. He didn't trash talk during the fight, though he gloated heavily afterwards.

After several changes the jounin stopped them.

" Now, unlike last week, there is a more defined objective than beating each other senseless this week." Kurenai said as she paced in front of them. Guy, Asuma, and Kakashi (who had just showed up) seemed less interested then they had last time.

" Ninja often are sent to capture messages, and just as often to deliver them. Today you will practice finding opposing groups who possess documents for you capture while protecting your own." She tossed a scroll to each team. " Your goal is to keep this safe and capture at least one other scroll. Those who fail get to accompany Guy on his evening exercise routine. Lee, if your team fails, you DON'T get to accompany him on the exercises."

Lee paled visibly.

" Your teachers will take you to the part of the woods that you will begin in. This test will go until five o' clock."

Naruto looked up. It was nearly midday. He smiled broadly. This was going to be a piece of cake.

" Oh, and lest I forget. Kakashi spent half the morning setting up traps. Be careful."

The genin gulped as they looked to the Copy Ninja, who looked rather proud of himself.


	4. Chapter 4

" So what's the plan?" Naruto asked, circling his teammates up. Asuma had taken them to their starting point and told them that there would be a starting signal in five minutes.

" We get a scroll. Weren't you listening?" Kiba stated. Akamaru, Naruto, and Hinata sweat dropped.

" I'm saying how do we do this. You know, guard the scroll and find another group?"

" We should avoid Neji's group." Hinata said quietly. " Since they are the most experienced group they will be the hardest to fight."

" Yeah." said Naruto, nodding. " Good thinking Hinata. I don't want to have Lee beat the snot out of me today." Hinata blushed slightly at the compliment.

" Hey, Akamaru can guard the scroll for us." Kiba said, face lighting up. " There's a family jutsu we use for sending messages. Give me the scroll."

Naruto handed the scroll to Kiba. He tossed it to Akamaru, who to the horror of the others, snapped it out of the air and swallowed it. It was amazing the small dog could swallow something like that.

" Kiba-kun!" Hinata said, shocked.

" It's okay. He can cough it up later and it'll be mostly clean. And watch, use your Byakugan."

Hinata activated her eye and looked at Akamaru. To her surprise she could not see the scroll anywhere.

" Even we get beat, they won't find the scroll. Only someone with a Inuzuka nose could tell."

Akamaru smiled up at them, looking extremely proud of himself.

" All right, that means were mostly safe. I guess we want to find another group now. I have a plan."

" Really Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smiled foxily.

" Yep. First, I need to make some clones."

He performed the jutsu and twenty five Naruto's appeared. They got into groups of four and performed the transformation jutsu, taking on his teammates appearances, as well as having one take on the form of the scroll. It now looked like there were six of their team.

" All right, you guys head out. They are going to patrol the forest. Asuma sensei told me if a shadow clone is destroyed the other clones and I learn what it knew. It they find another group, we'll go for them. Plus, if someone sees us, they might ignore us because they think were just clones. Also, they might think we hid the scroll with the clones and keep it. If they do, the clone will transform back and help when we fight them."

" Hey, good thinking." Kiba said, looking at Naruto with surprise.

" Next, lets head to the center of the forest. Hinata, watch for people with your Byakugan. Once were in the center, you can take a break. Kiba, when she is resting, watch with you nose. When we meet someone, I'll distract with clones while you two head in with your jutsu. Lets go!"

Hinata, Akamaru, and Kiba followed in awe, surprised at the speed Naruto had come up with the plan.

" Oh! Almost forgot!" Naruto formed another group of clones and had them run in front of them. " These guys will trigger traps for us.'

The clones seemed unsure of the idea, but the others thought it was simply genius.

---

" Kiba?" Naruto whispered.

" No one." Kiba replied.

They had reached the center, going though three groups of clones to pass the traps. They hadn't seen anyone other than one of their clone groups, and none of the clones had been destroyed yet.

Hinata scanned briefly with her Byakugan, but didn't see anyone.

" I didn't see anyone either." She whispered.

" Man, its been almost a hour. Where are they?" Kiba complained quietly.

They sunk back into the small copse of bushes they had hidden in and waited. Several minutes later memories flooded into Naruto.

" Hey! I found Ino! She's south of us. They got the clone of me. The others are running towards us."

" All right. Get ready Akamaru."

They sat and waited for a moment, the clones and the other team coming into view quickly. The clones shot past the bush and Naruto leapt from it, creating a dozen clones and diving at Ino and Shikamaru, who were leading the attack.

" Got ya!" Naruto yelled as he tackled them. Shock was written on their faces. However, Choji immediately began smashing though the clones. Before he freed his teammates, Kiba and Akamaru, having used the Human Beast Clone, smashed into him, knocking him back.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and searched the other team for the scroll. She found it on Shikamaru.

" Naruto! Shikamaru has the scroll!" Three clones held him down while the other searched. Shikamaru struggled, but was pinned. Suddenly, one of the clones holding Ino jerked up and began to hit the others.

Kiba dodged a punch from Choji and came up with a swing, delivering a uppercut. Choji was easily the strongest of the genin, but he was slow. Unfortunately, despite how he and Akamaru were wailing on him, Choji seemed barely effected. Choji backed away and formed a hand sign, suddenly ballooning into a large round ball. It began to roll at Kiba, who leapt over it. With the force Choji was moving at, there was no way they could hurt him now.

When the clones on Ino were gone, the errant clone disappeared. Ino, who had been motionless, snapped up and raced to Shikamaru. Hinata, however, dropped in front of her, Byakugan active. Ino swung a roundhouse kick at her, but Hinata leapt an delivered several Jyuuken hits to Ino's leg, freezing the chakra flow and paralyzing it. Ino gasped as she fell to the ground, unable to stand. She began to form a jutsu, so Hinata hit her hands with more Jyuuken strikes, preventing her from drawing the chakra for the jutsu.

" I got it!" Naruto shouted, springing away with the scroll in hand. Kiba and Akamaru took the opportunity to abandon their fight with Choji and followed. Hinata raced over to Shikamaru and sealed the chakra points on his hands. The clones holding him down nodded to her, and she ran off with her teammates.

---

After they were sure they had hidden their tracks, they found another copse of bushes and hid in it. Kiba and Akamaru dug the ground out a little, letting them sink lower.

" All right, since we have the scrolls we need, we just want to keep hidden." Kiba whispered.

" Why? We could get the others?" Naruto seemed eager to face someone else.

" Naruto, a bowl full of dry food now is better than the promise of a steak later. We don't want to risk losing." Kiba whispered back, trying to sound thoughtful.

" Is everything you say dog related?"

" Shh." Hinata shushed them. She activated her Byakugan and scanned around. " We should stay quiet for now. Ino's team will likely pursue us." The boys nodded and lay silently, listening and looking for pursuit with all their ability.

Several hours passed. All the clone groups had taken a casualty or two, so Naruto had a decent look at all the other groups. Ino's team was searching around without much luck. Sasuke's team had hit the clones fast, so his read was not very accurate, but she thought he had seen some scratches. Lee's team had split up, and had chipped away at the various clone teams. They seemed largely unaffected, though Lee had a bump on his head.

Hinata conserved her chakra for another fight, using her Byakugan only occasionally. They had to rely on Kiba's nose for warning. Sasuke's team came within thirty meters of them once, looking like they had been though a hard fight. However, while Hinata had been assessing their state she saw they had two scrolls. She had been certain she saw Shino look her way, but they had continued on their way.

Then sun was just beginning to set when Kakashi appeared in their midst.

" Yo." he said pleasantly.

" Shh! You'll blow our cover!" Naruto said rather loudly.

" Actually, the test is over. Your team passed!"

Hinata activated her Byakugan. It was Kakashi, not a trick, so she relaxed.

" All right!" Naruto said as he leapt up.

" Sweet!" Kiba stood and stretched. " Lets he'd back. I'm tried from all that hiding."

" Kakashi-sensei, how did the other teams do?" Hinata inquired, brushing dirt from her jacket.

" I don't really know. We'll find out back at the clearing."

He led them back. They arrived at about the same time as the others, each led by a jounin.

" Hey!" Asuma said, smiling at his students. " Way to go!"

" Thanks sensei!" Naruto replied, smiling broadly.

" All right everyone, hold out your scrolls." Kurenai said. Akamaru coughed up the hidden scroll and Naruto took out the captured on. Sasuke's took out two scrolls, and to Naruto's confusion, Neji and Ino did as well.

" Wait…I thought their were four." Naruto said blankly.

" There are." Ten-Ten replied, seeming proud. " We gave Lee a couple fake scrolls and sent him to accidentally get beat by the other teams. He couldn't find you guys though."

" Why?" Naruto asked, more confused than he had been.

" So you guys would think you had our real scrolls. It didn't really work though. The only group we could find was Ino's and they already lost theirs."

Kurenai had them all show her their scrolls. She dispelled the jutsu disguising them. The one that Sasuke's team had captured and Ino's teams were fakes, to their disappointment.

" All right, if you don't have a real scroll, line up with me!" Guy proclaimed loudly. Ino's team walked over dejectedly. Ino stopped by Sakura and said something. Then, they ran off.

" Well, that's it for today. See you tomorrow." said Asuma, dismissing them. Sakura ran over to Hinata and Naruto. Naruto's face lit up as she did.

" Naruto, could you make a clone real quick?" Naruto looked confused, but at Sakura's request did so eagerly. Sakura then grabbed the clone and Hinata's hand and ran off. The real Naruto sulked and walked away.

" What's going on?" Hinata asked as Sakura come to a stop. The clone looked equally perplexed.

" Well, since you can't tell the real Naruto, I thought it would be good for you to practice with a clone." Sakura said with a smirk. " He's not the real one, so you don't have to worry."

" Huh?" the clone asked.

" B-but a shadow clone learns everything the original knew." Hinata explained. Sakura blinked.

" Really?" Sakura asked. Hinata nodded. " Oh. Well…you could tell him anyways."

Hinata began to blush deeply and was unable to make eye contact with the clones. She had to. She knew she had to try. She began to open her mouth as the clone, becoming bored, leaned against a tree.

There was a swish as the clone was dragged upwards by his foot. It had stepped into a rope snare.

" Wait! Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura cried out. The clone flailed in mid air before bonking his head on a branch and disappearing in a puff of smoke. The two girls stood in silence for a moment.

" Sorry." said Sakura nervously.

" No, thank you. It was a good try." Hinata said, trying to be polite. It wasn't Sakura's fault she didn't know all of the jutsu's effects. With a promise from Sakura to come up with a better plan, the girls departed.

---

For the next few days they continued to train and do missions. After catching the cat for the fifth time, however, Naruto and Kiba were ready to throw a fit.

" Come on! We're ready for something real!" Naruto whined.

" Yeah!" barked Akamaru. Kiba nodded in agreement to the dog.

" Well, there's not anything else really to do. I think you guys are ready for a C rank, to tell you the truth, but all there is available are D ranks." While Asuma's confidence in them was nice, it was still disappointing. " Anyways, see you four tomorrow." Asuma waved and walked off.

" Well, I'm going for ramen." Naruto stated. " See ya!" He waved as he raced of.

" Hey, Hinata, if you two start going out, make sure he eats something else. He's going to kill himself." Kiba teased. Hinata blushed and looked away. " Anyways, we're off too."

Kiba and Akamaru walked home, enjoying the evenings cool air. To their surprise, they found Kiba's mother waiting.

" Hey mom!" Kiba said, walking up. She smiled to him. " What's up?" he asked.

" The clan has a mission they'd like to send your team on."

" Really" said the boy and dog in tandem, dumbstruck. " That's great! Asuma-sensei said we were ready for C rank but there weren't any left!"

" Well, come on in and we'll tell you about it. Tomorrow you can tell your team and see if they are willing."

---

" You'd better have a good reason for this." Naruto said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was barely five in the morning, but Kiba and come by and roused him and brought him to the restaurant Asuma was always taking them to. Hinata and Asuma, looking equally sleepy, were waiting with Akamaru.

" Come on!" Kiba said loudly, waving them towards the doors to the restaurant. He pulled on the handle, but the door didn't open."

" Kiba-kun, they aren't open this early." said Hinata, stifling a yawn.

" The ramen stand is!" said Naruto. The others sighed.

Several minutes later they were seated at the ramen stand. The old man was as happy to see Naruto as ever and had praised him for bringing more customers.

" So Kiba, what's this about?" said Asuma as he picked at a small bowl of ramen disinterestedly.

" Well, I wanted to tell you guys, last night the Inuzuka clan gave me a courier mission to the Hidden Stone village. I was supposed to see if my team could go, and my mom said buying you guys breakfast would be a way to help convince you."

" Your buying?" said Naruto eagerly. " I'll take a double beef ramen with as many eggs as I can get next!"

" A courier mission to the Stone village? What's the delivery?" said Asuma, mulling it over. " The Stone village and the Leaf are at peace for the moment, but there's a lot of bad blood between us."

" Actually, its really safe. There's a clan in the Hidden Stone which also raises dogs, though they don't use them as companions like us. We're trading some medical documents. There's a type of flea that's usually only from around here that they are having trouble with, so they asked us to pay back a favor."

" Hm." said Asuma. " That sound's alright. I'd have to check the mission file, but I don't see anything too dangerous about it."

" All right! Finally a real mission!" Naruto cheered between mouthfuls.

" Well, its just a C rank." said Kiba, rubbing the back of his head. " Its mostly just going there and back."

" Well, I'm going to the Hokage's tower to check out the details. Here." Asuma handed Naruto his untouched ramen. Naruto looked to him gratefully. " Meet me at the training ground at nine with your full gear and supplies for the five days its will take to get there. Unless I see anything I don't like, we'll be leaving then."

The genin nodded and set to having a good breakfast before going home to gather their supplies. Kiba ecstatically told his family his team had accepted and got the documents. Hinata informed her sister she would be gone for a week or two on a mission. Naruto grabbed his stuff and went back for more ramen.

At nine, Asuma came walking up, laden with a backpack full of supplies.

" Were heading out." he said.

" Yes!" Naruto cheered.

" After I check your gear."

Naruto grumbled as he and the other genin began to unpack their backpacks.


	5. Chapter 5

After a quick trip to a store to buy Naruto food other than ramen for the trip, the team set out. Asuma smirked as he was the looks of awe on his students faces. They walked towards the border of the Earth country at a decent pace.

After several hours of walking and taking in every sight, Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru were starting to get antsy.

" Hey, hey, I thought C rank missions were going to be more exciting." Naruto whined.

" C rank missions have almost no chance of combat. The only difference between them and D rank ones is you leave the village." The genin sunk a little as Asuma explained. Even Hinata looked like she had been hoping for an attack. " Don't slack off though," Asuma improvised. " The Leaf and Stone villages had a pretty bad war not long ago. If we were going to be attacked by someone, there's no place more likely than the Earth country." The genin perked up again and began scanning the trees for waiting assailants.

Asuma smiled and looked back down the road. The kids had completely forgotten they were still a day from the edge of Earth country's border. He lit a new cigarette and thought back to the war. He had been a genin and hadn't fought, but the news of the day had certainly filled his daydreams. Imaginary fights against scores of Stone ninja, back to back with the Fourth….

Asuma snapped out of his memory and looked back to Naruto, his heart beating quickly. He, like most of the jounin, knew that Naruto was actually the Fourth's son. Naruto looked nearly identical to his father, save the fox whisker marks on his cheeks. He'd even heard villagers mention how odd it was that the demon child would look like the Fourth. There was no way he could bring Naruto into the Stone village without someone noticing the same thing, and it was likely that they'd be vengeful.

The pleasure of the trip suddenly drained from Asuma.

---

That night, everyone was gathered around a small campfire.

" Kiba-kun?" said Hinata, breaking a short silence.

" Yeah?"

" The clan were taking the documents to…what are they like?"

" Well…" said Kiba, leaning back dramatically. " I don't know. My mom mentioned them a few times, but I didn't listen."

" Oh. What's the clan called then?" Hinata asked.

" Uh…." Kiba said, face blank. Akamaru yipped. " Oh yeah! The Zunagi clan! That's what their called." Akamaru yipped a few more times, obviously having listened better. " The Zunagi raise dogs like we do, but they use them differently. Instead of using them to help in battle, they train them to track people down by scent. Their dogs are a lot better than ours for that."

" So their nothing really special." Naruto said, crossing his arms. Hinata nodded. The clan did not sound too impressive.

" Oh! The last three of their villages Kage were from their clan too."

Naruto had just taken a drink of water and did a spit take. Asuma blinked, momentarily forgetting what had been bothering him.

" From one clan?" said a incredulous Naruto.

" That is quite impressive. They must be very talented." Hinata added.

" Yeah, yeah. The times that out clans have fought, though, the Inuzuka always win. Their not that great." Kiba said dourly. Akamaru yipped in agreement.

---

The next day went quickly and uneventfully. They came to the border between the countries just before nightfall. It was amazing in the difference in the terrain. The Fire country had a lush forest of trees, while the Earth country was a barren rocky waste. It looked like it was going to be a very hard walk for the next three days. They pitched their tent and slept, trying to relax before the hard journey.

Naruto woke early the next morning. He sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. His bladder was uncomfortably full, so he dressed and got out of the tent.

The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon, the orange glow of the sky matching his jacket. He walked over by some bushes, out of sight of the camp, to pee.

" Ahh." he sighed as he relived himself, feeling the tension go away. He really had to go so it took a little while. He finished and zipped his pants up, then stretched and yawned loudly. He opened his eyes from the yawn and blinked as the trees came into view. However, he spotted a figure on a branch not far from him watching him.

" Aaah! Pervert!" he yelled. The figure turned and sped away.

Asuma, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata sprung up at the shout and rushed to the tent entrance. They nearly ran into Naruto as he tried to come back in.

" Who would do that…" Naruto grumbled. He then noticed everyone looking at him in shock.

" Naruto-kun, what was it?" Hinata asked.

" Eh, I just got up to go pee and when I finished, I saw someone watching me!"

Naruto looked at the others in confusion as Asuma, Kiba, and Akamaru sweat dropped and Hinata blushed as deeply as she had in her life.

" What? There was someone watching me! Really! When I yelled they ran!" Naruto pleaded.

" Naruto, I don't doubt that. But it wasn't some pervert. We're almost in the Earth country. Most likely, it was a Stone ninja spying on us."

" Oh." Naruto said, looking thoughtful. " But why's the Stone ninja watch me pee?" Hinata had to turn away and clap her hands to her mouth to stop herself from giggling.

" Naruto…" Asuma sighed, rubbing his temples. He felt what he called a Naruto Headache forming.

---

" Rocks." Kiba said blankly.

" Yep." yipped Akamaru.

" Lots of them. Everywhere. "

" Kiba, shut up." Naruto said sourly.

It was the second day in the Earth country. The first day had nearly killed their feet, and Kiba and Akamaru wouldn't stop whining about the boringness of the country, to the others dismay.

" There's even rocks in my shoe." Kiba said, taking his boot off and pouring gravel from it.

" Kiba, shut up!" Naruto shot back more loudly.

" No, you shut up! I'm bored! Its boring in every direction here! I have to do something to keep myself from passing out into a coma!" Kiba yelled back.

" Come on, though! Sing or something, just be quiet about the rocks!"

" Both of you, shut up." Asuma said, sighing.

" Why?" the boys shot back in unison.

" Look around."

They did. To their surprise, a group of twenty ninja had appeared around them. They noticed Hinata did not seem to have been taken as unaware as they had.

" Sarutobi Asuma. What is your purpose here?" asked one who seemed to be the leader.

" Me and my genin team are delivering some documents to the Zunagi clan." Asuma said, flexing his knuckles and looking around, assessing the situation.

" Indeed. Hand over your documentation." Asuma withdrew the scroll and handed it to the Stone ninja, who looked over it. When he had decided it was authentic, he handed it back. " You may proceed."

Asuma put the scroll away and motioned to his students. They fell in behind him, feeling the eyes of the Stone ninja on them. One of them tugged on the leader's sleeve and whispered something to him.

" You, boy, are you a Yamanka?" the leader shouted to them. Naruto looked back to them. " I asked you a question, boy." The Stone ninja said with a snarl.

" No. My names Uzamaki Naruto." It was hard to miss the glances that Stone ninja gave each other before they left.

It was nearly a half hour later when Hinata broke the silence.

" Um…Naruto-kun…is there some history between your family and the Stone village?"

" I don't know. I never met them." Naruto replied quietly.

" Oh. Its just…from how they looked around, I wondered if there was something."

Naruto bit his lip and cursed the damn fox. It had been nice lately, hanging out with Kiba and Hinata, who treated him normally, but he had hoped that in the Stone village he could walk around without the stares of hatred he usually received. He didn't know why, but the fact Hinata was concerned about him was kind of nice.

" Rocks." said Kiba, unaware of the conversation going on alongside him.

" Kiba, shut up!" Naruto said despairingly.

----

At camp that night, Asuma decided they would be keeping watches that night. Naruto was woken from a rather pleasant dream about ramen by Kiba for his shift and went out. He sat by the fires embers and tried not to doze off. After nearly a hour Naruto was snapped to attention by the crunch of pebbles being trod on.

He made no movement or sound. The crunch had come from behind him, so he focused and listened for another sound. There was another light footstep, allowing him to zone in on the sound. He spun, drawing a kunai and throwing it as a lone target came into view.

The person recoiled and leapt out of the kunai's path. The person was darkly dressed and had a cloth mask, so Naruto was unable to tell if it was a man or woman. However, it looked like an adult. Drawing a sword as it landed, it charged towards Naruto.

Naruto jammed the hand seal together and created several clones, which leapt towards the attacker, who sliced though one with the sword. However, the other clones landed their blows and knocked the unknown assailant over. One grabbed the sword away as the others wrestled the pinned opponent down.

" Now!" came a yell. From a dozen directions kunai came flying towards him. He stood dumbstruck. Moments before they hit, though, he was tackled out of the way by Kiba.

" Hinata, how many?" Asuma shouted, drawing his knives. Hinata activated her Byakugan. She almost lost control for a moment and channeled chakra into her missing eye, but caught herself. She focused in and searched for the attackers.

" Twelve people are circled around us. They have Stone village headbands." Hinata channeled chakra into her fingers, preparing to use Jyuuken. Kiba stood warily, watching for more attacks as Naruto got to his feet.

" Give us the blonde boy and we'll let you all live." said one of the Stone ninja.

" Like hell." chuckled Asuma, entering a combat position.

" I'll go." Naruto said, making his teammates turn to him. " They have us outnumbered and surrounded, and I don't want you guys getting hurt."

" Naruto, don't be a idiot. We're a team. We fight for each other." Kiba said as he drew a soldier pill for Akamaru.

" Kiba, shut up." Naruto walked towards the Stone ninja calmly, showing that his hands were away from his weapons. " Promise you won't hurt them?" he asked the leader, who nodded. Naruto walked next to the leader and left himself open for a knockout hit, which was quickly delivered.

" No!" cried Hinata. She began to race towards Naruto, who was being carried away by one of the stone ninja, but Asuma stopped her. The ninja raced off while they stood their in silence.

" Asuma-sensei, we have to follow them!" Hinata said pleadingly. " We can't abandon Naruto-kun!"

" Were not going to. But that was a bad situation. Now, we can track them and attack when we have to ad…" Asuma was unable to finish as he dodged a kunai. Five of the Stone ninja had returned.

Kiba and Akamaru performed the Human Beast clone jutsu quickly and took dashed off towards the closest opponent, who threw several shuriken. However, Kiba and Akamaru's impressive speed had only increased from the jutsu, and they dodged lazily as they loped in. Before the ninja could react, they threw a pair of flying kicks into him, sending him flying.

Asuma and Hinata were rushed by the other four. They knew who Asuma was, so three went against him while the other held Hinata off with a staff. Hinata found herself unable to get close to her opponents, held at bay with jabs and swings. For the first time, she found her Jyuuken hits completely useless. Without the ability to hit her opponents and close the chakra points, she found herself outmatched.

" You Stone bastards always go back on your word, don't you?" Asuma mused as he slammed his knife into the second ninja's chest. The wind chakra slacked though him viciously, ripping his chest to pieces and sending the body whirling. The last of the opponents that had attacked him backed away nervously, obviously aware he was facing a far superior foe. Asuma rated them at chunnin level so far. He saw Hinata was having some trouble and the ninja fighting Kiba and Akamaru had slashed one Kiba with a kunai, so he sped his fight with his last opponent up. He channeled a moderate amount of chakra into his knife and hurled it, striking true and destroying the man.

Kiba was bleeding badly. He and Akamaru had been distracted by some sort of mud clone and hit with a smoke bomb, and while he was coughing he had been hit. Akamaru and he were staying close to each other, dodging as the ninja exhausted his supply of throwing weapons. When the ninja drew a kunai and didn't throw it, they took it as a sign that he was at his last and Akamaru charged, Kiba following to help. Just at the transformation began to fail Akamaru delivered a punch to the ninja's face, knocking him unconscious. Akamaru transformed back into a dog and barked triumphantly.

Hinata was glad when Asuma appeared and struck down the ninja she was fighting. While Asuma looked unfazed, Hinata was out of breath. Her knuckles were bloody from the hits on the wooden staff, so she performed the Mystical Palm jutsu and closed the light wounds. Kiba came over with Akamaru, who was dragging the unconscious Stone ninja, looking proud. Hinata began bandaging the wound and healing it as best she could while Asuma surveyed the situation and their prisoner.

---

Naruto woke and immediately winced, feeling the ache in his neck from where he had been struck. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a featureless stone room that had been carved from rock. There was a iron door with a light coming though the cracks, illuminating the dismal cell.

_At least I saved them._ thought Naruto, sitting back against the wall. Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata had become friends of his, even knowing the truth of the demon, and he would have hated seeing them hurt. He liked Asuma too. Other than the Third, Iruka, and the ramen stand people Asuma was the only adult who was nice to him. He felt a twinge of guilt, thinking he should have fought rather then given up, but they couldn't have won.

He had just began to wonder what was going to happen to him when a small panel on the door slid open.

" I see your awake, you little bastard. You Leaf ninja don't have much fight in you, do you?"

" We kicked your countries ass." Naruto shot back.

" That was only because of your father. A son like you is quite the disgrace on his memory, isn't it?" The Stone ninja laughed.

" My father?" Naruto asked quizzically. " Wait, you know who he was?"

" Of course I do! Everyone in the Stone, hell, all countries know of him!"

" Who was he?" Naruto asked eagerly. The ninja blinked.

" You…isn't the Yellow Flash your father?" the ninja asked, losing some bravado.

" No, I'm a orphan. I have no idea who my parents are. Nobody in the Leaf does either." To Naruto's confusion, the Stone ninja paled before shutting the small window. He heard voices on the other side and crept over.

" We have a problem. He's not the Yellow Flash's son."

" He's lying. He looks exactly like him."

" I'm a interrogation specialist. I can tell when people are lying. He said, as truthfully as I have ever seen, he's an orphan and his parents are unknown."

" You have to be wrong. He's practically a picture of the Yellow Flash!"

" Don't you realize what this means? We sent word to the village we had the Flash's son. Without that leverage and the with dead team, this could turn into another war."

Naruto reeled for a moment before his mind clicked. _Dead team. _His team. They had killed them. After knocking him out they had killed his friends.

Something seemed to mist over his eyes, like a red fog.

BANG.

The Stone ninja jumped at the loud sound. They glanced over to the iron door, which was crumpled, as if something very powerful had hit it. BANG. A second, larger indent appeared.

" Dammit! The kids got some power! Get the first team down here and put the other two on…"

The Stone Ninja leader never finished as a primal roar erupted from behind the door and a third hit fell, tearing it off its hinges. Naruto lurched out, the demon foxes chakra pouring from him, eyes red and furious.

" You bastards. Your bastards, you bastards, you bastards!" Naruto screamed before launching himself at the leader. With the chakra increased speed and strength he tore into the man using his claw-like hands, carving his throat out in moments. He looked to the others, who drew weapons in terror. Naruto felt…hungry…and for some reason, they smelled nearly as good as a bowl of steaming ramen.

---

" Kiba's in position." Asuma whispered. He and Hinata were hidden over the entrance to the cave they had tracked the Stone ninja to, using the prisoners information. Kiba and Akamaru were creeping up from the side with several smoke bombs to make a diversion so they could take out any guards that were hidden. So far they hadn't encountered anyone. Hinata had yet to detect anyone with her Byakugan, so Asuma dropped down to the entrance. Once he gave them the all clear sign, the genin raced to him.

" All right. Hinata, you can't see anyone, right?" Asuma said, peering into the cave. It twisted down for a ways before turning out of sight. Hinata focused for a moment. Asuma hoped that she was being truthful when she said her Byakugan was no weaker with one eye.

" Hey, sensei…Akamaru smells a whole lot of blood down there." Kiba said as he placed Akamaru in his coat. Akamaru looked somewhat afraid. Asuma sniffed for a moment, picking up the scent himself.

" Asuma-sensei, I can see the edge of a large chamber, but that is at the edge of my vision. I didn't see anyone."

" Well, either our prisoner lied or Naruto escaped. You two stay here. I will send a clone back to get you if I think I'll need you." Asuma crept down the stone corridor into the caves recesses.

" Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered, fighting back tears. She was so afraid from him…the killer intent that she had sensed from the Stone ninja made it seem they would have killed him as soon as possible.

" Don't worry, Hinata. He's fine. You don't take a prisoner for immediate execution." Kiba said, patting her on the back. Hinata squeaked and covered her mouth. " Crap, I didn't mean it like that. Just…don't worry. He'll be fine." Kiba said, trying no to stumble over his words more.

---

Asuma peered around the corner cautiously. He had arrived at the bigger section Hinata had mentioned. He nearly gasped at the sight. He counted eight Stone ninja dead in pools of blood, the signs of a vicious fight all about. The corpses weren't even all whole. Some and been partially dismembered or had what he was afraid were bites taken out of them.

He proceeded though a small cave complex. It had to be some sort of outpost. He had passed though a armory, barracks, jail, and command post before he found a small room with a water spring in it. He had found nearly thirty corpses, all killed horribly. In the spring room, however, he found a unconcious Naruto in the water. His clothes were burnt like he had been on fire, his jacket totally destroyed. The seal was vivid on his stomach, with oozing blisters and scabs rising from it. He had a kunai embedded in his leg and several vicious slashes.

" Asuma-sensei." Naruto said as he approached, quietly, shocking him. " I guess I died too. I think I got a few of the Stone ninja. I don't really remember, though." The weakness of Naruto's voice terrified Asuma more than anything he had ever experienced.

" Hey kid, your still alive. Don't worry. I'm going to carry you up to Hinata and have her take care of your burns. Close your eyes."

Asuma leaned over and picked Naruto up with ease. The boy fell asleep almost instantly, to Asuma's relief. As he walked back among the bodies, he wondered how Naruto had done all this. He grabbed a blanket from the barracks and wrapped Naruto in it. Grimly, he came to the conclusion the demon fox mast had helped. This wasn't the time for worrying about that, though, so he banished the thought. He arrived at the entrance to the cave, where he set Naruto down in front of a very worried Hinata.

" Hinata…" Asuma had no need to finish his request, as she had already begun to tend to Naruto's wounds. She first closed a number of cuts and scratches with the Mystical Palm jutsu before using her burn salves on Naruto's stomach and bandaging the wounds she could not tend to. She began to falter towards the end, exhausted from the chakra use.

" Hinata, take a break. Kiba, you help Hinata. I'll take Naruto. We're heading back to Kohona." Asuma picked Naruto up and began walking back towards the border.

The next few hours were a obvious struggle for Hinata. She struggled to maintain the chakra use to keep pace with the others, and a few times Kiba and Asuma tried to slow down for her. She wouldn't let them, though, and forced them to keep going at full speed.

Kiba kept on the lookout behind them. Asuma had to focus on the front and Hinata was in no condition to try, so he tried his best. The sun had cleared the horizon when he sensed pursuit.

" Sensei, were being followed. Me and Akamaru will take care of it." With a roguish grin he slid to a halt and bounded the other way, despite Asuma's protests.

Akamaru leapt from his jacket and began running alongside him. Kiba took out two solider pills and gave one to Akamaru before gulping the other down.

" Hey, remember how we caught mailman number fifteen a four days ago?" Akamaru barked.

" Yeah! Don't forget, mom said we have to pay him for the broken arm." Kiba said, remembering the incident. Kiba drew several smoke bombs from his jacket. They did the Beast Clone jutsu and hid behind a small bluff. Soon, the pursing ninja came into view. Kiba threw the smoke bombs in front of the group. Predictably, they dodged to the sides, expecting an attack from in the smoke.

" Piercing Fang!" yelled the pair in unison, thinking _Please work_ as they slammed the hand signs together clumsily. Suddenly, they each felt a huge rush of power and leapt in their spiraling attacks, Kiba aiming for the ninja who dodged left and Akamaru the ones who had gone right. Unable to dodge while they were in the air, the pursuers were caught by the tornado like attack and battered away.

Kiba and Akamaru landed by each other and surveyed the fallen ninja. Akamaru transformed back into a dog and leap up in a high five before racing off with his partner towards their team.

---

Asuma stopped when he and Hinata were just inside the Leaf border, hidden in the trees. Both had been moving dangerously fast thanks to their chakra use, though Asuma's reserve was still plentiful. Hinata, however, looked ready to pass out from exhaustion. Naruto was still deeply asleep.

" Hinata, take a break. I'll keep watch." Without hesitation Hinata collapsed to her knees and rolled onto the soft grass. She fell asleep instantly, her soft snores mingling with Naruto's. If it wasn't for the fact they had just escaped a life threatening situation and it was a very un-manly thought, Asuma would have found it slightly cute.

" We got them!" said Kiba loudly, loping up to them.

" Shut up, Kiba!" Asuma said, motioning for him to hide. Kiba and Akamaru plopped down by their teammates. Though Kiba had the wound on his shoulder, he and Akamaru were in much better condition than the other two. Asuma remembered grimly how he had given up trying to learn medical jutsu because of how exhausting it was. The fact that Hinata had used the Mystical Palm so extensively on Naruto and then ran at full speed, covering as much distance as she had, was a credit to the girls willpower.

When he was sure there was no more pursuit he had Kiba carry Naruto, placing Hinata gingerly over his shoulder. They started back towards the Leaf at a slow pace, wary of their surroundings. It was barely a hour later when Akamaru smelled several familiar scents.

" Kiba, those guys are back." Akamaru softly warned.

" Sensei, I guess we didn't get them." Kiba whispered. Asuma looked though the trees, hoping to see their pursuers. With Hinata exhausted and Naruto nearly dead, he had to keep them away.

" Akamaru, use your Beast Clone." Asuma said, setting Hinata down gently. The girl stirred slightly but didn't seem to wake up. " Take Hinata and go. I'll deal with these guys and catch up."

" Ruff!" replied Akamaru, which Asuma took for yes. The dog performed the jutsu, picked Hinata up, then rushed off into the forest at lighting speed.

The four stone ninja slowly walked from the trees. Asuma was surprised at the job Kiba had done on them. Their bodies were covered with cuts and scratches, one's arm hung limply at his side, and another's face… Asuma blinked as he looked again. The ninja' face was partially caved in, like it had been crushed against a rock.

" Hey." said a female voice. Asuma turned. A young woman in a grey cloak was standing near him. She had a katana and a stone village headband. " Those kids you got are pretty good, Asuma."

" Thanks. You have me at a disadvantage, miss." Asuma said, drawing his knives.

" Oh, don't worry. It'll hit you." the woman said, drawing the katana. A second later she was inches away from Asuma, swinging the blade in a nearly invisible arc. Asuma barely blocked the hit, which was far heavier than he expected. The two ninja leapt apart. The woman landed and Asuma could sense her beginning to force chakra into the sword. The other four ninja charged and leapt for him. Asuma took a large drag of his cigarette, formed a hand sign, and blew out a cloud of flaming ash onto the ninja. They didn't dodge and were hit by the cloud, immediately lighting on fire. To Asuma's shock, they continued running at him, seemingly oblivious to the flames.

Asuma slammed chakra into his knives and slashed the first two that got near, cutting deep. They barely were fazed, however, and threw several punches at him. Asuma dodged with ease. The attacks were poorly coordinated and somewhat weak. He delivered a punch of his own to one and sent it sprawling. Suddenly, he understood.

They weren't alive.

The woman had used some reanimation technique on them. She was probably using them to scope out his techniques. He had to take them out quickly and completely. He focused a excessive amount of chakra into his knives and began slashing viciously at the undead ninja's. Each hit of the powerful wind chakra tore a large chunk of the corpses apart, and the four were quickly destroyed. Asuma looked back to the woman. She was still focusing chakra into the blade. Before he could act, she lunged towards him faster than he could see. He summoned a huge amount of wind chakra and forced it forward, creating barrier. The woman brought the sword down on the barrier, which was blasted apart with insane force. Asuma was hurled backwards into a tree from the force of the hit.

He landed on the ground hard and immediately knew he was unable to move. He felt his consciousness slipping away quickly. The woman smiled and stuck the blade into the sheath. Asuma noticed, for the first time, that the blade was made of stone, not metal.

_Well shit._ he thought as darkness passed over his vision.

---

" Come on Kiba!" Akamaru yelled at the boy, who was lagging behind.

" Hey, shut up! Naruto's heavier." Kiba snapped back. He was still sour because he had to carry Naruto. " Come on, lets trade for a while."

" No way. Sensei gave you fox boy, you have to carry him." Akamaru replied with a barking laugh. As if the laugh had been the trigger, Akamaru suddenly transformed back into a dog and he and Hinata went tumbling to the ground. Kiba landed and ran over to where they had fell.

" Ow." Hinata said, rubbing her head as she sat up. " How long was I asleep?"

" About a hour. You okay Akamaru?" Kiba said, ignoring Hinata and walking past her.

" Yeth. I habt a bloodly node thow." yipped the puppy, standing up. A droplet of blood began to trickle down his snout.

" Aw, man!" Kiba said, tossing Naruto aside and leaning over to help his dog. Hinata let out a cry and dove, catching Naruto before he landed.

" Kiba! You could have hurt Naruto-kun!" Hinata screeched. Kiba and Akamaru looked at her in surprise, blinking. They had never heard Hinata be loud before. Hinata set Naruto down gentily, making sure his head was on a soft patch of grass, then walked over Kiba.

" You idiot! Whats wrong with you!" Hinata said as she began to beat Kiba around the head. Kiba tried to protest, but He wasn't able to get the words out though the pummeling. Akamaru let a snorting laugh out though his bloody nose.

" Oh, thanks for carrying me, Akamaru." Hinata said, petting Akamaru on the head pleasantly. Akamaru smirked at Kiba, who was nursing a lump on his forehead.

" Aww. That's cute." said a voice, making them all jump. They turned and saw a woman standing by Naruto with a sword. " Tell you what. I'll let you and your boyfriend go."

" Deal." said Kiba. Hinata gasped.

" Kiba, how…" Hinata began before she was shushed.

" Hinata, Naruto's your boyfriend, right? According to the deal, you get to take him!" Kiba said, smiling. " Hey, don't worry. Me and Akamaru can fight her."

" Um, sorry to cut in." said the woman. " I didn't mean blondie here. I'm going to kill him. I meant you two."

"Oh! I thought you meant Naruto because he's Hinata's boyfriend." Kiba said, working it out in his head.

" I haven't told him yet, Kiba." Hinata said, looking bashful.

The woman blinked.

" This is how you people conduct yourselves in the field? How the hell did you beat us in the war? Forget it, I'm killing you all." She raised the katana and brought it down in a stabbing motion towards Naruto.

Before anyone could act Hinata had thrown herself forward, forcing chakra though her body to propel her faster. She dove in front of the blade and screamed as it was driven into her arm. However, the force of her leap diverted it from hitting Naruto.

" Hinata!" cried Kiba and Akamaru, scrambling to their feet.

" Woah. Nice one. I didn't even hit a organ." the woman said as she delivered a kick to Kiba and Akamaru, knocking them away. Using the sword as leverage, she forced Hinata to her feet. Hinata could barely think though the pain. " So, does blondie have some thing about girls with one eye or something?" The woman said as she began to pull the sword back out. Hinata pressed forward, forcing herself along the blade towards the woman.

" What are you going to do, punch me? It's not like you could kill me with one hit." the woman said, moving back out of Hinata's reach.

" That's why my clan invented the Divine Sixty Four Strikes." Hinata said as she slammed the jutsu together. She realized, for the first time in her life, why the jutsu had never worked for her. You had to have anger behind it.

" Wha…" was all the woman got out before Hinata landed a Jyuuken tap on her neck, slashing the Carotid artery open. It was a incredible rush for Hinata. Even with the dizziness from blood loss, the speed she was moving at and the ease of hitting the chakra points was amazing. The woman was unable to move or dodge as nearly every vital organ she had was stabbed with chakra and her chakra flow completely sealed. Hinata didn't notice when the woman died, she just finally fell back.

As the jutsu faded, Hinata suddenly felt her weariness return and slowly fell backwards.

---

Asuma was panicked as he raced after the woman's trail. He had came to shortly after being knocked out, and luckily the woman must have thought him dead. He kicked himself for losing to her. Still, she was one of the Eleven Masters, the elite of the Stone Villages ninja.

As he came upon the scene of the fight, he couldn't believe it when he saw the woman on the ground. From the blood dripping out her mouth and the motionlessness of her body, he knew she was dead. Naruto and Kiba lay by a tree, motionless. To his horror, he saw Akamaru by Hinata, struggling to pull a sword out of her shoulder.

" Akamaru! Stop!" Asuma said, landing by the dog, who ceased pulling instantly. " Good dog. Get Kiba up." Asuma began to inspect the sword wound as the dog went over and began to bark in Kiba's ear. It had missed all organs and arteries, and since the sword was a bit wobbly it probably had not struck into a bone. The wound was still nasty, however, and Hinata had lost a lot of blood.

" Hey! Hey!" Akamaru barked. It wasn't of any use. Kiba was out cold from the kick. Akamaru gave up and went back over to Asuma.

" No luck?" the jounin asked. The small dog shook his head no. " Well, its just us then."

" Really? What's going on, sensei?" Naruto said, stifling a yawn. He had walked over while they were distracted. He then noticed Hinata. " Hinata! What happened to her!"

" I don't know. That woman over there," Asuma said, motioning to the corpse " Attacked me and knocked me out. She then went for Kiba and Hinata. I don't know what happened, but Kiba's out cold and Hinata has a deep wound. Goes straight though her."

" Is she going to live?" Naruto asked gravely. Asuma almost did a double take. The boy looked so much different when he was sad.

" She is if we get to work. Come on. We need to take off her shirt."

Naruto's eyes bugged.

" Sensei, you pervert! We can't do that! And she's dying! We need to treat the wound!" Naruto said irately.

" Naruto," sighed Asuma, drawing out a medical pack. " I meant so we can bandage her arm."

" Oh." Naruto said, blinking for a moment.

They set to work getting Hinata's jacket off as carefully as they could. Naruto was blushing deeply, as, he noticed, was Asuma. Naruto averted his eyes as much as he could as they slid Hinata undershirt off. To their relief she was wearing a bra. Naruto almost slapped himself when he found himself lingering on her breast a moment too long. He'd never noticed before but she was quiet a bit more developed than the other girls in his class.

" All right, this won't do much, but its something." Asuma formed the seals for the Heavenly Palm jutsu and held it over the wound. It began to scab and pull together, but after only a few seconds the jutsu collapsed and Asuma fell back panting.

" Sensei, what's wrong?" Naruto asked.

" Medical jutsu's are really hard, Naruto. You need a lot of chakra control and it uses a lot of chakra. I never got the hand of them. Hold her up for a second so I can get the spot on her back." Asuma said, sitting back up. Naruto complied and they sealed the wound on her back. As Asuma rested Naruto applied the gauze and began wrapping the bandage around Hinata shoulder. They put her coat back on, though they kept her shirt off. They'd need to change the bandages, and it would be more of a hassle taking the shirt on and off.

" Well, you get to carry Hinata. I'll take Kiba. We need to head out now." Asuma said, standing up. He walked over and grabbed the stone bladed sword.

" Right. Um, sensei, by the by, what happened to my clothes?" Naruto asked. Asuma looked back, remembering that Naruto's shirt and coat had been destroyed and his pants were partially charred.

" They got destroyed when you were captured, I guess. There's no time for that. Lets go."

---

Naruto felt incredibly awkward, running though the forest towards the Leaf Village, carrying Hinata, without a shirt. He could remember Asuma finding him and snippets of being carried, but that was all he could recall from a long period. He and Asuma hand been running for a while, Akamaru racing alongside them. They stopped every now and then to check on Hinata, who seemed to be stable.

He also was having trouble with a little part of his brain that couldn't stop thinking about how soft Hinata felt against him and how pretty she had looked without her large coat. He knew he shouldn't be thinking such things in the situation, but he couldn't get it out of his head. He tried to focus on getting back as fast as he could.

The sun was setting as the gate to the village came into view. There were more guards than usual waiting.

" Asuma! What happened!" shouted one of the senior chunnin.

" We got attacked bad. One of my students needs to get to the hospital fast."

" No need. We have a medical team here." The chunnin showed them to a tent.

" Naruto, you stay with Kiba and Hinata. I want you checked out too." Asuma said, heading for the tent entrance.

" Sir, you should stay to. Your pretty beat up." said the chunnin. Asuma looked to the mirror. One of his eyes was black and he had a lot of bruises.

" All right. How'd you know to have this ready?" Asuma asked, sitting down.

" Things have gotten complicated. Since you left the Stone Village has set a bunch of raids into our terrortory. The Third has sent a bunch of patrols out. The rumor is we could be sitting on another war here."

" Really? Why?" asked Naruto as the medical ninja took a look at the light scabs on his stomach, the last remains of the burn.

" Nobody knows. There's also a rumor that one of the Eleven Masters has been sent on the raids."

" Not a rumor." Asuma said, handing the sword to the chunnin. " My students got her."

" Actually, I was asleep." Naruto said, rubbing his head.

" That must have been Hinata and Akamaru." Kiba said, sitting up. " She knocked me out before I could do anything." Akamaru barked. " Oh, never mind. Akamaru says Hinata won on her own."

" Way to go Hinata." Naruto said quietly, looking over to where two medic-nin were healing the sword wound.

The chunnin left with the sword to take the news to Third. Everyone sat in silence as the medic-nin worked. After a half hour they finally stopped.

" What's wrong?" Naruto asked nervously.

" Nothing." said a medic-nin. " She's going to be fine. She'll barely have a scar. We've given her some plasma pills and a blood transfusion, so she should be fine fairly soon. She'll need a few days off, though. In fact," she said, looking at the clip board she had written on while looking them over, " You all should. Kiba, your wound isn't bad but it could get infected. Asuma, you have bruising on about a quarter of your body. Naruto," she said, forcing herself to sound normal when she mentioned him, " The burns pn your body are mostly superficial, so you'll be fine."

" How's Akamaru?" Hinata said, sitting up gingerly. She winced and put her hand to her shoulder.

" Akamaru had a bad bloody nose, but he's fine." replied Kiba, joining Naruto, Akamaru, and Asuma in a broad smile. " Good to see your okay, Hinata."

" All right, all of you, head to the tower." said the chunnin, who had returned. " The Third needs your versions of what happened on the mission. The Stone Village is claiming you attacked one of their bases."

" All right, lets go." said Asuma, standing up. He limped slightly as he exited the tent. The genin followed quickly, looking forward to their first debriefing.

---

" Now, I understand most of your story." said Ibiki, flipping though his notes. " Even the unlikely bits, such as a genin beating a S-Rank individual sound true to me. But what I don't understand is why You can't remember anything after you ' Saw Red' in the Stone prison, Uzamaki. Can you elaborate?"

" Not really. I've tried to remember what happened, but when I try, I just can't." Naruto said, sounding honest. A guard had been sent to his home to pick him up some new clothes. He looked somewhat normal in his black shirt and a fresh pair of orange trousers, but without the orange coat he didn't quite look like Naruto.

" Very well. ANBU has a technique that allows them to search though memories. We will be performing it now." Naruto almost fought back when the two ANBU ninja landed by him, but he knew that would be a bad idea.

Hinata watches with trepidation as the ninja performed the jutsu and Naruto seemed to fall into a trance. She didn't know what had happened, but she hopped, no, prayed that Naruto would be in no trouble. Their report had been questioned heavily by the Third and Ibiki, and she got the feeling something very bad was happening.

" Naruto, what happened after you hear your team was dead?" asked Ibiki.

" I killed the Stone ninja." Naruto replied breathlessly.

" How?" inquired Ibiki.

" I beat my way though the door and began clawing the one nearest to me. Several others attacked me while I did this, so I attacked them as well. I bashed one's skull in, tore our another ones neck, and beat the last until he stopped moving. I then hear movement…."

Hinata couldn't help herself from gasping as Naruto described how he had killed the Stone ninja. The deaths were brutal and she was shocked when Naruto claimed to have done things like biting out one's throat or dismembering another. When he came to a end there was a silence.

" You two, leave. Everything you heard is confidential." said the Third to the ANBU. They bowed and left. " Hinata, Kiba, Asuma, and Akamaru, what I am going to tell you is a secret. What happened to Naruto was somewhat expected. In the past, individuals with demons sealed within them have, in instances of extreme anger, been able to draw on the demons chakra to aid them. This is one such instance. The Fourth foresaw this, however. Part of the seal is designed to limit his use of the demon. He can only draw upon the demons chakra when protecting someone he cares for."

" Cool." said Kiba blankly. Asuma sighed at his somewhat dumb students reply.

The Third stood up and walked over to where Naruto sat. He shook Naruto slightly, and Naruto came out of the trance. He looked up at the Third fearfully.

" Did I really…" Naruto began to ask, looking terrified.

" Yes. You did. Do you understand why, though? It's because you though people you cared for were dead. I think that forgives your actions." The Third gave Naruto a wide, grandfatherly smile.

" Yeah, Naruto, that was awesome!" Kiba said, walking over and slapping Naruto on the back. Naruto smiled bashfully.

" You did good kid. Glad to have you on our team with a trick like that." Asuma said, lighting a cigarette. His father frowned at him, but made no mention of the oft-argued habit.

Naruto became aware after a second that Hinata was standing by him looking unusually nervous, even for herself. He turned and was about to ask what was wrong when she leaned over and kissed him. It lasted just a moment, but it sent a pleasant, numb feeling through him.

" Now there's a compliment." said the Third, causing Naruto and Hinata to snap out of it and blush.


	6. Chapter 6

" Um…Hinata…" Naruto stumbled over the words because he was still reeling from the unexpected kiss. Hinata was blushing dangerous and looked terrified and relieved at the same time.

" Ihavehadacrushonyouforever." Hinata blurted. Naruto blinked. Hinata gasped for air, seemingly choking on the air.

" Uh, well go." said Asuma, pushing Kiba towards the door and gesturing to his father. The Third nodded and walked away, giving Naruto a roguish grin.

" I." Hinata began with a gasp as the door closed. " Have. Had. A crush on you. Forever."

Hinata seemed like she was about to faint.

" Hey, you should sit down." Naruto said, getting out of his chair and motioning to Hinata. Hinata sat down and instantly began to relax.

" I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Hinata apologized, nearly bursting out in tears.

" Don't say sorry! You didn't do anything wrong!" Naruto said, trying to comfort Hinata. He leaned over and tried to grad her hand, but she suddenly hugged him and planted another kiss on him.

_Okay._ Naruto though as Hinata kissed him. _I officially don't get this, but I don't really care._ Naruto kissed back as well as he could.

" So, Hinata…" Naruto said as they pulled apart. " You really had a crush on me?"

Hinata nodded wordlessly.

" Sorry I didn't notice." Naruto smiled foxily. " I'm kinda dumb."

" No you are not!" Hinata interjected. " Your very smart, Naruto-kun! You can come up with plans quickly and even if you didn't score as well as Sasuke or Sakura on the tests in school, you're a kinder, better person."

" Woah." was all Naruto could say. " You really have a crush on me, don't you?"

Hinata's eye blinked.

" Okay, you can be a little stupid." she said teasingly. Naruto pouted jokingly. Her stomach then rumbled.

" Heh. You sound pretty hungry." Naruto teased to a horrified Hinata. " Wanna go get some ramen? It'll be like a date!"

" Y-yes!" said Hinata, secretly pinching her leg to make sure she wasn't dreaming. " I'll pay!" she said, unzipping her jacket and reaching for the pocket she kept her money in. To her most utter and complete horror, she had no shirt on, revealing her bra and body. She squeaked and pulled her coat closed quickly.

" Oh, yeah, when Asuma-sensei bandaged your wound we had to take off your shirt. I think its still in the medical kit." Naruto said, blushing deeply.

" You…my shirt…sensei…." Hinata mumbled, not believing what she was hearing. " Eh, forget it. Lets go." Hinata said, hopping out of her chair. _Who cares? Naruto-kun's my boyfriend now._

_--- _

" Kiba!" shouted his mother, who rushed out to meet him. " We heard what happened!"

Akamaru's father trotted over. " Hey," he woofed. " I heard you did good."

Akamaru and Kiba smiled widely as the clan fawned over them. At dinner, which was the good kibble, Kiba's mother made them tell the story.

"…and then the stone ninja lady with the sword kicked me in the head and knocked me out" Kiba said, looking to Akamaru to continue.

" Wimp." said one of the dogs. All the women in the room snarled humorous at him.

" Well, after that Hinata did some jutsu and hit the woman like a million times." barked Akamaru. " The woman was dead and Hinata was unconscious so I tried to pull out the sword. Asuma-sensei arrived a moment later and Naruto woke up, and then they took of Hinata's shirt to put on the bandages…"

Akamaru was interrupted as Kiba did a spit-take with a mouth full of kibble.

" I missed that?" Kiba moaned. " Your kidding!" He hung his head sadly.

" Oh come on Kiba." his mother teased. " It wouldn't be right to see her naked before asking her on a date. I'd hate for you to have the same problem I had with your father. Its hard not to laugh when someone's talking when you know they have a mole on their left cheek."

Kiba looked over at his father, who was pouting under the laughter of the others. He didn't have a mole on his left cheek.

" Aw, ew, I get it." Kiba said as it clicked. " Anyways, mom, It's not like I'll have another chance. Hinata going out with Naruto."

" Wait. Isn't Hinata the heir of the Hyuuga clan?" asked one of the dogs.

" Yeah." Akamaru yipped.

Kiba and Akamaru didn't know why the adults all burst out laughing.

" What's so funny?" he asked his mother.

" Hinata, being the Hyuuga heir, is practically a princess. Her dating Naruto is a huge smear on the family honor. They always act so high and mighty, we'll be able to hold this over their heads forever."

" Yeah, well don't." Akamaru growled. The laughter stopped quickly.

" Yeah. Naruto's our friend and so is Hinata. Naruto's as dumb as I am, a orphan, and apparently the Stone ninja all want to kill him. He's got enough to deal with without worrying about how he affects the Hyuuga's honor." Kiba said, petting the snarling puppy. " And don't forget, Hinata's already gotten beaten by her dad for this. I want things to go well for her."

" Good boys." said Kiba's mother, patting his and Akamaru's heads.

" Huh?" they said in unison.

" Your loyal to your new pack. That's a good thing, since that'll let you work better with them. I think that merit's an new rawhide each."

" Score!" said Kiba and Akamaru, pumping their right paws into the air.

---

Hinata knew she should be resting, but she was just so excited. Since she was able to use the Divine Sixty-Four Strikes, she could now fully use her fighting style. She'd performed the jutsu several times that morning and pulverized the training logs. Use of the jutsu was a rite of adulthood for the Hyuuga she should have mastered long before, and her place as a failure was largely marked by this. The other members of the clan seemed to be looking at her with more respect now.

Or, maybe it was the fact she killed a S-Rank individual the day before.

They news of their mission had already begun to spread last night. While she and Naruto had been at the ramen stand, chatting…the warmth of the memory of the evening spread over her as she recalled it…they had heard it was already widely known that the students of Sarutobi Asuma had fought off a large number of Stone Ninja who attacked them with no provocation. Kiba and Akamaru, two of the most talented Inuzuka of their generation, had defeated four chunnin in a single attack. The "demon boy" as he was now reffered to as the villagers had killed thirty ninja by himself. The rumors how he had done it were actually quite similar to what had really happened, but with many wrong details. The fact the demons chakra was involved was completely missing. Naruto just shrugged at this. He was used to the villagers hatred already.

However, equally infamous to the village now was the heir of the Hyuuga. The knowledge that she was a failure had spread when her father was arrested and her feelings for the demon boy were one of the juiciest scandals in the village since Jiraiya left, but now she had killed one of the Eleven Masters and captured her sword, an artifact highly prized by the Stone Village. It gave the Leaf a lot of leverage over the Stone and also put them down one of their most powerful ninja.

Suffice to say, the belief that she was a failure was nearly dead. She had seen Neji that morning, and she was as cold to her as ever. However, Hinata had never received the warm, adoring smiles she did as she went about the complex that morning. Every member of the clan treated her with great respect and politeness, and their was a genuine feeling to their actions that let her know they were not just afraid of having their seals activated.

She walked past the small garden her mother had planted. Things were good. She had proved herself worthwhile. She had mastered her clans most important jutsu. She had kissed Naruto-kun.

Oh, god, she had kissed Naruto-kun. She felt dizzy and fell over in the flowers, which cushioned her fall. After a moment her panic attack faded and she relaxed in the soft flowerbed, basking in the sunlight.

---

" Nine bowls! A new record!" Naruto cheered, setting his empty bowl of ramen down.

" Way to go, Naruto!" Ayame said with a smile. Her father smiled in a grandfatherly way to Naruto, but she knew he was really tallying the bill up in his head. They really did like the boy, but the fact he was their unchallenged best customer made him practically family.

" Ohh. I think I'm done." Naruto said, standing up with a wobble. " Here you go." He handed the old man the money for his bill and walked away with a wave.

Though the ramen had driven the thought from his mind, the revelation with Hinata quickly returned. Other then with Iruka-sensei, he'd never been that close with anyone before. It had been really fun to sit there during dinner and talk with her. They'd discussed the mission, how good ramen was, training, their classmates, how good ramen was, how it stank that Naruto's orange jacket was gone, how good ramen was,

and how good ramen was.

As he thought about it for a moment, he realized he maybe should have talked less about ramen and more about Hinata. He'd have to remember that. Suddenly, he was almost knocked over by something dark haired and its pink shadow.

" Hey! Watch it!" Naruto shouted before noticing it was Sakura and Sasuke, heading off in a hurry. He jogged along with them. " Hey, hey, what's going on?"

" Sasuke-kun got us a C-Rank mission! Were escorting a bridge builder to the Wave Country!" Sakura shouted triumphantly. " We have to hurry, though. We leave in ten minutes."

" Hey, cool! Good luck with that Sakura-chan!" Naruto said out of force of habit. He suddenly realized if he considered Hinata his girlfriend, he couldn't really try and get a date with Sakura anymore. " Well, see ya!" he said, excusing himself and coming to a halt.

---

As they sped away from Naruto, Sakura was overjoyed when Sasuke spoke to her, a rare treat.

" I hope there's something big on this mission. With all the things Naruto's team did, we really need to do something impressive so we don't look more pathetic than the dead-last." Sasuke said broodingly.

" I hope so too, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said adoringly.

---

_This is the life._ thought Asuma, taking a long drag of his cigerette and sinking deeper into the warm bath. He'd bought himself a days worth of smoke's and was going to work his way though them in a long, relaxing bath. He wasn't going to leave his home until tomorrow, not even if the Stone Village declared war and attacked. He'd even bought bubble's for the water on a whim.

" Asuma! Asuma!" came Kurenai's voice from the door to his home, followed with loud knocking.

_No, no. This was a day off. Go away._ he thought. _I don't want to deal with any long lectures or training plans for the brats today._

" Asuma, my friend! Enjoying a bath?" Guy said as he poked his head around the door.

" Guy, what the hell!" Asuma said, eyes wide with shock. " Look away, look away!"

" Of course, my friend!" Guy said, though he didn't move. " You may wish to dry yourself and dress, though. Kurenai and I are here because we want to hear what happened on the mission!"

" Get out. Please." Asuma said pleadingly. " I just want a day off."

" Nonsense! We need to know what happened!" said Kurenai as she walked into the bathroom.

Asuma nearly cried.

---

A hour later he'd given up and told the tale of the mission to the two intrusive jounin. At least Kakashi had the sense to leave him alone, though that was probably because he was on a mission.

" This is troubling. I have hear the Third is negotiating a truce over this, but it does not sound like it will end here." Guy said, entering his thoughtful pose.

" At the very least, I doubt your team will be sent even near the Stone border again." Kurenai said, drinking a cup of coffee she had helped herself to.

" So, will your students be ready for the group training tomorrow? I would think their youth would have restored itself by then."

" Eh, probably, but not for sparing." Asuma replied. " Were supposed to be taking a few days off. Maybe a few exercises or something."

" Or, we could work on them seeing though genjutsu. It would require focus, not physical effort. I know Lee needs work on spotting illusions and Naruto and Kiba probably will need work as well."

" Hinata and Neji will be fine, as will Ten-Ten. Her eyes are almost as astute as that of a Hyuuga's." Guy declared, giving a rare non-Lee directed compliment.

" Fine, fine, whatever." Asuma said with a sigh. He'd have to cancel his chess game tomorrow. " Wait, chess! After they do that, lets have them practice chess against each other. It'll give them analytical and tactical skills."

" Asuma, it's always chess with you." Kurenai said with a sigh. " Fine. We'll do that if there's time after the genjutsu practice."

Asuma smirked. At least tomorrow wouldn't be a complete loss.

---

" All right, teams Labrador and Chihuahua have sectors twelve, thirteen, and fourteen." Akamaru barked commandingly. The young Inuzuka puppies and children in those teams saluted and sped off.

" Team Bloodhound, you have to cover sector fifteen and sixteen by yourself. Your older, though, so you can handle it." Kiba said to the almost Academy-age kids and pups. " Move out!" With a salute team Bloodhound sped off.

" Finally, Team Corgi will cover sector seventeen. There's a lot of good squirrels there, so you should have it pretty easy." Akamaru barked to the youngest of the assembled. They smiled and raced off clumsily.

"Man, this is going to be great. We're going to be famous for this for years. Kiba said. " I am so glad we have today off."

" Hey, we need to hurry. Mailman number one is due in sector four in five minutes. " Akamaru said, looking over the map they had laid out of Kohona, detailing the postal routes. " Cat number one has also been rumored to sleep on a roof in that area in the mornings." he yipped, cross-checking the morning cat diagram.

" Man, that would just be perfect, wouldn't it? Catching Cat number one? Mom can't even find that one. Lets go, Akamaru!" Kiba said, rolling the maps and charts up and bounding over the fence towards sector four, followed by Akamaru. They almost landed on Naruto, who was walking down the street.

" Hey Kiba! What are you doing?" Naruto asked, sounding a tad bored.

" Were going after mailman number one! We got most of the kids and pups from the clan helping us. Were trying to catch all the cats, mailmen, and squirrels in Kohona in one day! Wanna come?" Akamaru woofed. Kiba translated quickly.

" Nah. See you two." Naruto said, walking past and waving. Kiba shrugged and bounded off. Then, out of the corner of his eye Naruto spotted Konohamaru and his friends walking towards them. " Actually, why not!" he said, following quickly.

---

Four hours later, a muddy trio walked up the street towards the Inuzuka residence. Naruto picked a clod of dirt out of his ear. Akamaru sneezed, dislodging a piece of moss that had gotten wedged in his nose when he had accidentally dove into the swamp.

" Hey, it looks like everyone's back." Kiba said, pointing to the crowd of equally messy Inuzuka waiting in the yard. They all had out lists of the targets they had successfully captured. " All right! What'd everyone get?"

Naruto felt a little out of place as he stood by Kiba and Akamaru, who began to tally the reports from the rowdy kids and puppies. The young Inuzuka all looked at him, obviously aware who he was but not aware why he was disliked yet. One walked over to him, a look of confusion on his face. The others all waited with baited breath.

" Um…" the kid began, seeming unsure of his question. " I heard you have a fox in your tummy."

" Eh heh. No. Its sealed in me, and the seals on my stomach." Naruto said, smiling and rubbing the back of his head. The kid blinked for a minute.

" Hey, he has normal teeth! Everyone, come look at his teeth!" The young Inuzuka, as if they had been waiting on cue, ran over and surrounded him. Naruto was instantly knee deep in puppies and little kids, all starting at him expectantly.

" Uh, what?" Naruto asked. He didn't think he had normal teeth. His canines were actually long and pretty sharp compared to most peoples. He noticed one of the puppies mouth was open, and for the first time he noticed the Inuzuka had longer canines like him.

" He does! He really does!" cried one of the kids. There was a lot of talking as the young Inuzuka took this in. " Are you like a cousin of ours or something?"

" What?" asked Naruto, not seeing the kids logic.

" Well, only our clan has normal teeth. The rest of the villagers have the weird small teeth." said a young Inuzuka girl in a matter of fact voice." You're the only person I know of that has teeth like ours. You also have tattoo's like ours on your cheeks, though their the wrong color."

" Eh hehe. I get it. I'm not a cousin. That's from having the fox sealed in me I think, like these whisker marks." Naruto said pointing to the stripes on his cheeks.

" You smell like a fox too." said one.

" Hey!" Naruto said crossly. " I do not!"

" Yes you do. Hey everyone, we got most of the targets! Go to the kitchen and get yourselves some cookies. If someone yells at you, say I said it way okay." Kiba said, walking over. To Naruto's relief the young Inuzuka all raced off.

" Thanks Kiba." Naruto said. " They were starting to get kinda annoying.

" Not a problem. Hey, want something to eat?" Akamaru offered. After Kiba translated, Naruto agreed and followed them into the Inuzuka manor.

Naruto was quite sure that if he ever saw what the Hyuuga compound was like, it would look nothing like the Inuzuka residence. The building was messy, their were dogs and toys everywhere, and the kids and adults all were pretty rowdy. He got a lot of funny looks, but not the hateful type he was used to. When they arrived, the kitchen looked like it had been hit by a tornado.

" Man, I'm going to be in trouble. They really made a mess." Kiba moaned. Akamaru let out a bark-like laugh.

" Hey, don't worry, I'll help you clean up. Mass Shadow Clones!" Naruto said as thirty more of him appeared. They began to clean up. Naruto found the rags and cleaning supplies and a team began to wipe down the kitchen while another group got all the bowls and things into place. Several times a clone had to show Kiba what to do.

" No, no. After you wash them in the soapy water you have to rinse them, Kiba." Naruto said with aggravation.

" Aw, who cares? I just wanted to straighten things up Naruto, not scrub the place spotless! This is cleaner than the kitchen's ever been in my life." Kiba said irately. From where he was perched on Kiba's head Akamaru nodded. Naruto looked back over the kitchen. It was filthy looking.

" Tell you what. Just let me finish this Kiba. I'll tell your mom you helped." Naruto said, showing Kiba to the door. Kiba didn't protest and went off to go get his new rawhide from his room while Akamaru dug his up.

---

Kiba's mother had been having a good day. Her son was back and safe, which put her in a good mood to start with, and everything had gone right. She didn't have any mission so she was able to go shopping and get some on the things she had been needing for weeks. It had been nice for her to see Kiba and Akamaru organizing all the pups for a big cat chase. They were two good boys.

Arriving back at the Inuzuka residence, she went straight to the kitchen to drop of two bags full of canned dog food. At the door, however, she found a small crowd of clan members peering in and blocking her way.

" Hey! Move it!" she barked. They all looked at her with surprised and moved. She caught the scent of a fox a moment before she entered.

" What the hell?" she swore.

Dozens of boys who were identical to Uzamaki Naruto were cleaning the kitchen thoroughly, scouring away the dirt from the floor, washing the dishes, and organizing all the cabinets. Her son walked in and stopped next to her.

" Hey, Naruto, good job!" Kiba said before returning to gnawing on the rawhide.

" Kiba, what's going on?" asked his mother, looking perplexed.

" Well, me and Akamaru and Naruto came in to get something to eat but the kitchen was all pigged out. We started to clean it up. I helped."

" How?" Kiba's mother asked skeptically.

" He got out of the way." yipped Akamaru. Everyone laughed, causing Kiba to pout and grumble.

" Uh, Naruto, thanks for all this, but you don't need to be doing this." Kiba's mother said, approaching one of the clones.

" Its not a problem!" Naruto said. " Kiba offered me something to eat, so it's the least I can do. Look out." Naruto said, pointing to the squad of clones that had scrubbing the floor which almost ran into her. She moved aside. _I thought the tiles were brown._ she thought, examining the white floor.

" Hey, could I get you to clean my room?" asked one of the young Inuzuka.

" Heck, could I get you to clean the whole manor?" Kiba's mother said jokingly. Naruto gave her a devious look. " Sure, but you'd have to pay my tab at Ichiraku ."

Kiba and Akamaru tried to stop her, but before they could she said " Deal."

" All right! You guys hear that! Free ramen for a week!" The crowd of Naruto's cheered. " All right! Everyone out building!" Naruto said, bringing a few clones with him into the courtyard.

" Why?" asked Kiba's mother.

" Because its going to get really crowded in here." Kiba said, pushing his mother towards the kitchen door. " Mom, you really shouldn't have agreed to pay for his ramen."

" Why? It sounded like a deal to me." Kiba's mother said as she joined the rush of exiting Inuzuka.

" He ate nine double servings for breakfast this morning." Akamaru yipped. Kiba's mother paled and checked her checkbook.

---

" Woah." woofed one of the dogs, adequately voicing every Inuzuka's thoughts. They all wandered into the manor, which seemed a completely different building that before.

" Check this out." Kiba said, pointing to the orderly row of water bowls. Each was spotless and filled up perfectly. The dogs names, which had been written on each quickly before, were now carefully painted on the sides.

" Hey, I'm done." said Naruto, walking over. " I hope its okay. I only really have practice cleaning my apartment."

" Naruto, this is incredible." Kiba's mother said, mouth agape. She couldn't remember the courtyard ever looking so clean.

" Hey, where are all the chew toys?" barked a dog in dismay. There was a general growl as the Inuzuka noticed this.

" I put them all in boxes by the door." said Naruto, pointing to several crates full of squeaky-toys. The Inuzuka all relaxed instantly. " Hey, I'm pretty hungry so I was going to go get some ramen. I'll tell them you'll be by to pay my tab. See ya Kiba!" Naruto ran off, leaving the bewildered Inuzuka.

" Do you think he touched any of our buried bones?" Akamaru asked. A tense hush fell over the assembled clan, and a moment later the entire clan was speeding off to check of their buried toys.

---

" That was kind of mean of you, Naruto." Ayame said as she handed him his fourth bowl of ramen. " How was the poor woman supposed to know how much ramen you ate?"

" Aw, come on. I cleaned the entire building." Naruto said before taking a bite. " Hey, is he okay yet?" He motioned to Teuchi, who they had moved to a chair after he fainted when Naruto said someone was paying his entire tab.

" Probably." Ayame said with a smirk.

---

Hinata spread the scroll out on her desk in her study. She looked around the room and decided that tomorrow she would move in more of her things and get rid of her fathers relics. She turned her attention back to the scroll which detailed the Heavenly Spin. She was going to memorize it and begin to practice it soon.

And more importantly, she resolved, she was going to find Naruto-kun tomorrow and see about going on another date.


	7. Chapter 7

" I had a rubber bone that squeaked under the tree!" barked a puppy irately.

" My favorite tennis ball is gone!" agreed one of older Inuzuka.

" Everyone's toys are missing!" Tsume yelled, hushing everyone. " But its not because they were moved. Someone else found them while they were looking for where they buried things. So everyone, just shut up."

" But you found your stuff!" someone woofed. " You didn't get effected by this."

" Yeah, but I have to pay the kids tab at some restaurant he goes to a lot. Its probably going to cost a lot." Tsume whined.

" Who cares? Its just money! My squeaky toy is gone!" the irate puppy snarled.

Tsume sighed. She was never having Naruto clean the manor again.

---

Asuma hobbled down the street, lingering on his right leg no more then necessary. It felt stiff so he was trying not to use it. The Inuzuka manor came into view slowly. He was going to have Kiba and Akamaru go get the other two for him. They lived nearest to him and he didn't feel like walking around the entire village today.

As usual, the main gate was wide open. Asuma walked in. The Inuzuka didn't really care who got in. He found the house buzzing with more action than usual, which was something. Nearly every single Inuzuka seemed to be out and digging up sections of the yard and guarding dog toys from each other.

" Akamaru, its mine! I only chewed on mine a little!" Asuma heard Kiba yell. He looked over and saw Akamaru and Kiba struggling over a rawhide bone. Akamaru barked something and all the younger Inuzuka and puppies let out giggles.

" Take it back!" Kiba said, looking shocked and angry. Akamaru barked again and let go of the bone, then sunk his teeth into Kiba's leg. Kiba cried out in pain and wobbled over and began to wrestle the dog off.

" Hey you two. Break it up. You've got training in a hour." Asuma said, hobbling over. The pair stopped fighting and looked at him in surprise.

" Uh, hey sensei. What are you doing here?" Kiba said, standing up and dusting himself off.

" Telling you that you have training. Go get Hinata and Naruto and meet me at the group training field."

" All right! Lets go, Akamaru!" Kiba said before running off. Akamaru followed, also seeming to have forgotten their fight.

---

Neji was up and doing his morning training. The Hyuuga courtyard where he was practicing was empty save for him. The stupidity of his situation stuck him again. Here he was, a hardworking genius, but because he was of the branch family he was seen as less than that pathetic reject.

The last four weeks since Hinata had become a genin had been tumultuous, and Neji had to admit he didn't like what had happened. He was glad to see Hiashi gone, but since this had given Hinata the ability to activate his seal it gave her power over him. He resented that she had that power only because of the merit of her father being born first.

And the ridiculous story of her beating a S-Ranked individual. It had to be a lie. True, she appeared to have finally mastered the Divine Sixty-Four Strikes, but her hand to hand was still inferior to Hanabi's and far below his own.

Neji was interrupted from his hateful brooding by a heavy knocking on the main gate. Sighing, he walked over and opened it. A scruffy boy and dog he recognized as Kiba and Akamaru from the group trainings Guy forced him to endure was waiting.

" Hey Neji! I'm here to tell Hinata that we have to go to practice today. Sensei said we'd have today off, but I guess he changed his mind." Kiba said, seeming to bristle with pride at having been given this duty. Neji remembered immediately why he had hated him during practice.

" I will show you to her." Neji said, voice laden with disdain. He began leading Kiba towards Hinata's room. She was likely still asleep. They arrived and before he could knock, Kiba opened the door and barged in.

" No!" Neji cried while trying to grab Kiba to stop him, but it was too late.

" Hinata? Hey, you here?" Kiba called, looking around. It was tidy and girly, but he figured if he didn't stay long it couldn't effect him.

" You idiot! What are you doing?" Neji said, grabbing Kiba and trying to pull him out. " This is Hinata-sama's room!"

" Yeah, it is." said a mischievous voice behind them. Slowly, Neji, Kiba, and Akamaru turned and saw Hanabi standing in the doorway, a evil look on her face. " Your going to be in trouble when I tell her!" she said as she darted off.

" You….idiot….I'll….kill….you…." Neji hissed though his clenched jaw.

" Hey, come on. She's just a little girl." Kiba said blankly.

" I wasn't talking to Hanabi-sama." Neji said, his eye twitching. Kiba nervously began edging away before he ran out the door with a roguish grin on his face. Neji could swore that, at the last second, the dog had stuck his tongue out at him.

---

" Hinata!" Hanabi yelled as she raced into the clan leaders study, causing Hinata to jerk awake. She had fallen asleep at her desk reading the jutsu scroll.

" What is it?" Hinata said, stretching and stifling a yawn.

" I caught Neji and some boy in your room." Hanabi said, smirking.

" What?" Hinata said blankly.

" Get this guy away from me!" Kiba yelled, diving into the study. A furious looking Neji was close behind him, the chakra in his hand charged for a Jyuuken strike. Realizing too late which door Kiba had entered he was unable to stop himself. Hinata sensed the chakra in Neji's forehead seal trigger a second before he collapsed to the ground, shaking soundlessly in pain.

" What's with him?" Kiba said, standing up.

" Help me!" Hinata commanded, grabbing Neji's arms and beginning to pull him out of the room. Kiba helped her and a moment later they had him in the hall outside. Neji was clutching his forehead and gasping for breath.

" Neji, I can stop some of the pain, but I need you to move your hands." Hinata said. Neji glared at her for a moment but complied. Hinata took off his forehead protecter and inspected the still glowing seal. He gathered chakra into her hand for a medical jutsu that reduced pain and held her palm to the seal. Neji relaxed immediately.

" What the hell is that?" woofed Akamaru.

" What is that thing on his forehead?" Kiba asked.

" It is the Caged Bird Seal which marks me as a member of the branch family." Neji said, voice laden with hate.

" Why's it hurting?" Kiba asked, still confused.

" Because I entered the clan leaders study, activating it. It is a mean for the main house to control the branch families." Neji said, pushing Hinata away and standing up. He turned and walked away, radiating killer intent.

" Woah. Wait, do all Hyuuga have that?" Kiba asked.

" All the branch families. My sister and I are part of the main family so we don't." Hinata replied, standing up and re-entering her study.

" So it hurts if they go in this room?" Kiba asked, following Hinata.

" Yes, but if I need to I can also activate the seal at will." Hinata said as she rolled up several scrolls and put them on a shelf.

" Wait, you can just switch it on? That'd be great! Someone gets on your nerves, then bam, instant headache! That's cool!" Kiba said, examine the room.

" That would be a misuse of it, stupid. Its for real situations." Hanabi interjected. " Anyways, who are you and why are you here?" Hanabi asked.

" Oh, that's right! Hey Hinata, we need to get Naruto and head for the group training thing. Asuma-sensi came by and told me."

" Oh! Alright!" Hinata said, perking up at the thought of seeing Naruto. " Lets go!" They turned and left immediately, leaving behind Hanabi, who's question was still unanswered.

---

Naruto-kun's apartment.

She was standing outside Naruto's apartment. She inexplicably loved the building, though it looked a little run down. She hadn't seen Naruto since they had been on their date, and she suddenly felt nervous.

" Hey Naruto! You there?" Kiba said, banging on the door. Hinata immediately cursed herself. She should have knocked.

" I'm coming, I'm coming." Naruto called from behind the door. A moment later he opened it. He was still in his pajamas and walrus hat and was rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Hinata had to force herself to not yell " Kawaii!" so hard she felt she was going to explode.

" Oh, hey Hinata!" Naruto said, noticing her. " Whats going on?"

" We came by to pick you up. Asuma-sensei says we have training today." Hinata said breathlessly.

" All right! Hey, let me get dressed real quick and I'll be ready." Naruto said, racing off to his bedroom. Kiba and Hinata walked in. The first thing they noticed was that the apartment was clean.

Insanely clean.

Kiba hadn't noticed when he'd been here last, but Naruto's apartment looked more like a hospital room. He'd figured it would be like his room, but he didn't see a single pair of underwear on the ground or sock stuffed under the couch. Akamaru jumped down and began smelling around suspiciously.

" Woah. I didn't know Naruto was a neat freak." Kiba said. Hinata glared at him. " I didn't mean that in a bad way. Please don't hit me." Kiba said, trying to placate Hinata.

" All right, lets go!" Naruto said, walking out. He looked so much different without that jacket, even though the rest of his clothes looked the same. " Aww man! Kiba, you didn't wipe your feet!"

" What?" Kiba said blankly before looking down. There were footprints leading to him. " Hey, my bad. I'll clean it up."

" No, I got it." Naruto opened a closet and took out a small rag. He shooed Kiba outside and began to clean the dirt up.

" Can I help, Naruto-kun?" offered Hinata.

" Thanks Hinata!" Naruto said cheerfully. " There's another rag in the closet." Hinata got a rag and helped Naruto scrub the dirt off the floor. It didn't take long, and they were soon all outside Naruto's apartment.

" All right! We got a half hour before we have to be there." Kiba said. " Lets go get…"

" Some ramen!" Naruto interrupted. " I haven't eaten yet."

" Aw, come on. I don't want ramen for breakfast." Kiba pouted.

" I do." Hinata said, supporting Naruto. " Lets go, Naruto-kun."

Kiba sighed as they went towards the ramen stand. He was going to have to get used ramen every meal for a while, since Naruto and Hinata were going to outvote him on it every time.

---

Teuchi was busy tallying up Naruto's tab when he noticed Naruto and his friends walking towards them. Thanking whatever deity that had blessed him with such a customer, her put on his friendliest smile, cash-registers ringing in his ears.

---

" Kiba, what happened? Where's the other two?" Asuma asked as the lone genin walked up. Guy and Kurenai had been here earlier than him and their teams arrived on time. He hated when Kakashi wasn't around to make him look punctual.

" Naruto and Hinata decided on a trip to the ramen stand. I couldn't get them away." Kiba said, pouting. Off in the distance Naruto and Hinata appeared, running towards them.

" Asuma, don't be too hard on your apprentices. Its just their youthfulness." Guy said. " Neji and Ten-Ten have the same problem sometimes." Guy slapped Neji on the shoulder. Neji's eyes were bugged and twitching while Ten-Ten blushed. Ino let out a insidious giggle. Asuma almost laughed. Neji just couldn't get a break.

" Sorry, Asuma-sensei! I didn't realize the time until I was on my seventh bowl of ramen." apologized Naruto.

" I tried to tell you!" Kiba said irately.

" Naruto-kun was hungry! You kept interrupting him so he took longer." said Hinata accusingly.

" But we didn't have time for that! And anyways, who eats that much ramen?" Kiba said defensively.

" I do. Every meal." Naruto said blankly.

" Naruto, shut up." Kiba said.

" Kiba, don't tell Naruto-kun to shut up!"

" Everyone, stop!" Asuma said, wading into the argument.

Everyone watched in fasicination as the team argued, Kiba telling everyone to shut up, Hinata defending everything Naruto said and did, Asuma helplessly trying to stop everyone, and Naruto contesting everything Kiba said.

---

" Sorry 'bout that." Asuma said once the quarrel had ceased.

" Nonsense! It is just their youthfulness expressing itself!" Guy said loudly. Kurenai and Asuma sighed. They knew him well enough to know he really believed that.

" Anyways, Asuma, Guy, and I have a different type of training for you all today. Rather than sparing, we are going to practice escaping genjutsu," Naruto shuddered as Kurenai mentioned the word, remembering the last time, " and then work on basic tactics and strategies by teaching you chess."

Guy looked less than interested.

" Now, can anyone explain how a genjutsu works?" Kurenai asked as the genin assembled. Naruto positioned himself as far from Lee as possible. Ten-Ten raised her hand.

" Genjutsu anchors your chakra to someone else's so that it messes up their senses." Ten-Ten said.

" Correct, and excellent phrasing." Kurenai said, smiling to the girl. Ten-Ten looked proud of herself. " Now, being trapped in a genjutsu is likely the worst situation you can possibly get into. You might be convinced your allies are enemies and attack them, be unable to detect your opponent, or even tricked into killing yourself."

The genin all gulped at the thought.

" There two ways to escape a genjutsu: break it yourself or have someone break it for you. If you strike someone in a genjutsu you can usually knock them out of it, but not always. The best method it so break it yourself. There are three steps to breaking a genjutsu." Kurenai held up three fingers for dramatic effect. " First, noticing you are in a genjutsu. The more chakra and focus a person has, the more detailed they can make it. This means that there will always be flaws. The real world has unlimited detail, while peoples chakra and focus are not unlimited. For example, what is wrong with this."

Kurenai formed several hand signs and besides her appeared what looked like Guy, who gave them a thumbs up. Hinata couldn't see anything wrong.

" Kurenai-sensei! The illusion lacks Guy-sensei's thick eyebrows!" Lee said quickly.

" Good, Lee. You need to keep on the lookout for things that don't look right to you. Hinata and Neji have a advantage in this. While their Byakugan are active they can see the chakra of the illusion. Byakugan users are nearly impossible to fool with genjutsu, making them one of Kohona's most useful assets in the field. However, you two should refrain from using your Byakugan today. Some techniques are capable of fooling your eyes, so you will need to be ready."

Neji and Hinata nodded.

" Now, once you notice you are in a genjutsu, you must calm yourself and focus your chakra. This is the second and easiest step. The Third, however, is the hardest. Once you have focused your chakra, you must completely stop its motion. This will break the genjutsu from you."

" That seems pretty easy." Naruto said, folding his hands behind his head.

" Unfortunately, this will not always work. If the other person has more chakra then you or is a unusually skilled genjutsu user, you will still be trapped. All right, I am going to put a genjutsu on each of you. Try your best to escape it."

Kurenai performed the genjutsu and trapped each of the genin in the illusion that they were in the middle of a blizzard. As they fumbled Kurenai walked over to the other jounin.

" So, who do you think will be first?" she asked.

" Kurenai-sensei, I believe I have succeeded!" Lee called out. Kurenai looked to him and could sense the chakra was gone.

" Lee, excellent job." Kurenai said.

" Yosh! My youthful apprentice has learned quickly!" Guy said, patting Lee on the shoulder.

A minute later Ten-Ten and Hinata joined Lee in having broken though the genjutsu. Neji, Choji and Ino took a little while longer, followed by Akamaru, and a minute later Kiba. Shikamaru finally put some effort in and finished with ease. Naruto, however, seemed to be having a great deal of trouble. They heard him muttering to himself and he seemed to be trying to focus, but wasn't getting anywhere.

" What's taking him? I know he had trouble learning things in the academy, but I thought he was improving." said a bored Shikamaru.

" Naruto," Kurenai said as she broke the genjutsu. " You seem to be having trouble. Were you focusing on stopping….oh." Kurenai stopped for a moment as it struck her. " You can't stop your chakra. That's what's keeping the seal functioning."

" No, I was close! I almost got it. Give me another try." Naruto pleaded.

" Naruto, you can't. The seal will force you to continue using chakra even if you don't want to. This probably is what helped you build up your huge chakra reserves."

" Oh. Did anyone else have any trouble?" Naruto asked, sounding hopeful.

" Lee got it immediately, and the others didn't take long. It was a fairly weak genjutsu, though. Since you can't shut off your chakra, there's another technique we can try. Its called genjutsu reversal. It double's the genjutsu back on its creator. You have to sense the chakra in the illusion and match yours to it, then force it away. Everyone, lets try this as well."

Kurenai performed the genjutsu again. Everyone began to focus, except for Lee.

" Kurenai-sensei, I believe you may have made a mistake. I only saw the genjutsu for a moment before it collapsed." Lee said.

" A mistake?" Kurenai said dryly. Asuma and Guy edged away nervously. Kurenai got very angry when someone insinuated her genjutsu technique was bad. "I'll try again."

Kurenai performed the jutsu, putting all the power into it she could. As it took hold Lee smiled for a second, then blinked.

" Um, sensei, it happened again." he said, sounding confused. " Is everything alright?"

Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy all stood there, mouths agape. Breaking though one of Kurenai's genjutsu like that was amazing.

" Lee, are you stopping your chakra like in the first exercise? We are practicing another technique now." Guy said.

" No, sensei. But in the first exercise the genjutsu only lasted for a second like that as well. I though it was because I stopped my chakra." Lee replied earnestly.

Kurenai blinked for a moment as Neji reflected the genjutsu. She dismissed it. Neji stood there looking superior and smug for a moment before he noticed Lee talking. The others, save for Naruto, didn't take much longer. Naruto struggled and struggled, obviously getting nowhere. Kurenai dismissed the genjutsu, leaving a dismayed looking Naruto.

" Well, it seems like we have a pair on unique individuals in this group. I can't get my genjutsu to stick to Lee, no matter what, and Naruto seems to be particularly vulnerable to genjutsu thanks to the seal." Kurenai had not meant it meanly, but she felt guilty as Naruto slumped in shame. Lee, however, seemed overjoyed.

" It might be because Lee has so little chakra that genjutsu simply cannot attach to him, and with Naruto's excess of chakra he is unable to force the chakra to break."

" Let me try again, please." Naruto said in a quiet voice. Everyone was a little startled by the softness.

" Naruto…" Kurenai began

" Please." Naruto cut her off. Kurenai sighed and performed the jutsu. _Men and their need to prove themselves._ she mused. Naruto was trying to save himself from the embarrassment of being the only one unable to do something, but he was only going to make it worse. Naruto put his hands together and began to struggle with his chakra.

---

For the next hour everyone practiced at noticing and breaking genjutsu but Lee, who went and did several laps. Except for Naruto, everyone improved. Kurenai explained that it would be harder to notice genjutsu in a real battle, but the practice would serve them well nonetheless. She finally broke Naruto out of the genjutsu.

" Naruto, not everyone can do everything. Some people just can't perform some techniques." Kurenai said, trying to comfort the boy. " Just because you can't break a genjutsu doesn't mean you're a poor ninja or anything."

" But it means I'm a easy target for genjutsu users." Naruto said.

" True, but you have Hinata on your team. She's excellent against genjutsu. She'll be able to detect them for you." Kurenai said. Naruto looked over to Hinata, a smile creeping onto his face.

" I hope I won't be too much of a problem, Hinata-chan." Naruto said, using the suffix for the first time.

" It won't be a problem, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, blushing. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ten-Ten and Ino stifling a giggle.

" Now, for something different." Asuma said loudly. He had gone away with Guy a while ago to get the chess sets and were now walking towards them, each with several boxes. Kiba sighed.

" I was looking forward to a few days without chess." he moaned.

" Shut up, Kiba." Asuma said, walking past the boy. " So, everyone pair up."

Naruto and Hinata quickly stood by each other. Hinata almost giggled when Lee sidled up to Neji.

" Lee, no." Neji said, sounding exasperated.

" But you are my rival! Beating you in this exercise…" Lee began.

" Lee, it's a board game." Neji said with a sigh.

" Yes, but it is still a challenge. Guy-sensei was forced to play a board game against Kakashi in one of their recent challenges."

" Can I play Akamaru?" Kiba asked, grabbing a board and chess set. Akamaru yipped at his mention.

" There's only nine genin. Akamaru will have to play someone else so you can all play." Asuma replied.

" Akamaru can play…. Ino." Asuma pointed to the girl who had been abandoned by her teammates. Akamaru let out a whine and trotted over to a dismayed looking Ino.

---

" You win again, Hinata-chan. Your good at this came." Naruto said. " That's four wins for you, one for me"

" Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata replied, beginning to reset the pieces. They had been practicing chess for almost a hour. Asuma-sensei had told them about how important strategy was and how chess taught strategy, but Hinata thought he had just suggested it because he didn't want to do anything.

---

" No! My rook has been defeated!" Lee cried as Neji took the piece. Neji sighed. " You shall be avenged!"

" I just can't get this game! They don't tell you what weapons the pieces are using, how skilled they are with them, or anything!" complained Ten-Ten as Kiba took a pawn. " What kind of simulation of battle is this?"

" A dumb one." Kiba said. " Your turn."

" Fine. Fine. Seriously, though, there are other games with a much more detailed system of combat resolution than this. Had I know I would have brought the rulebooks and dice…" Ten-Ten began mumbling to herself.

_She is such a nerd._ though Kiba.

---

" Uh, Choji, where's my knight?" asked Shikamaru as he set up the board again.

" I don't know." said Choji, taking a bite of a potato chip. He and Shikamaru looked at each other in shock.

" You didn't." Shikamaru said. Choji picked another one of the pieces up and licked in.

" I think I did. I remember one of the chips had a hickory flavor, even though these are nacho cheese." Choji set, setting the piece down.

" Choji, that's both of my knights and three pawns." sighed Shikamaru.

---

Akamaru scooted his bishop forward with his nose and barked. Ino reached lazily for a pawn, but Akamaru barked again. She looked at the pieces.

" Oh. Check. Good move." Ino said dryly. Akamaru rolled over. " Fine, fine, I'll rub your tummy, but next time you can't use your pawns like that."

Akamaru just smirked.

---

" Come on, Guy, it's called a knight, not a 'horsy-thing'!" Asuma said, nearly crying as Guy left his knight open to be taken by a pawn. Asuma looked down at his watch. " Yes! Switch partners! Kurenai, your turn with Guy!"

" See you in a bit Hinata!" Naruto said, standing up.

" Finally." said Neji. He was looking forward to playing anyone but Lee. After Lee had sworn vengeance for his third pawn Neji had been desperately wanting to switch.

" Hey, Neji!" Ten-Ten said, waving him over. The moment that Asuma had said switch Kiba had bolted over to Akamaru.

Everyone moved to new games, but before they could get to anyone else, Naruto and Lee were the only two left. With a grimace they sat down at a board and began to play in silence.

Naruto started to become a little miffed as he heard the others talking. He knew that a lot of people still hated him because of the demon fox, but it was annoying being face to face with one like this. Finally, against his better judgement, he decided to talk.

" So, did the demon fox kill some of your family or something?" he asked dryly.

" No." came the curt reply.

" You afraid the demon could get out or something?"

" No."

" Then what the hells your problem with me, Lee?" Naruto asked, looking away from the game. Lee met his gaze and heir was a brief moment of silence.

" I do not have enough chakra to perform any ninjutsu. I have worked hard every day, practicing my taijutsu to compensate for this disability. The Fourth Hokage picked you to act as the container for the demon fox, gifting you massive chakra that even our teachers envy. You also were able to learn the Shadow Clone jutsu, a technique far above your skill level, with apparent ease. "

" That's it?" Naruto said with a laugh. " Your jealous because the demon fox was seal in me? That's a new one." Naruto ignored the fact that everyone had stopped their games. Lee's arm began to twitch like he wanted to punch Naruto, but Guy was by them in a instant.

" You think I want this seal? Here's some other bonus to having a demon sealed in you. Most of the villagers hate me. The only place that will serve me food is Ichiraku. Most of the storekeepers in town immediately throw me out, so its really hard to buy anything. I'd trade all that chakra in a instant if I could be normal. Hell, I didn't even have friends until I got assigned to my genin team."

Lee looked somewhat taken aback.

" And here's the best part. Want to see what using that chakra does to me?" Naruto threw off his shirt and slammed his hands together, focusing a massive burst of chakra. The seal quickly faded into view, then began to sizzle and crackle and the chakra flowed though it. A moment later the skin began to blister.

" Naruto-kun! Please stop!" Hinata raced over and put her hand on his shoulder. He did immediately, wincing in pain. Hinata performed the Heavenly Palm and began to heal the burns.

" If I'd kept going, let, I'd have set myself on fire." Naruto said with a snarl. Lee looked as shocked as anyone could be.

---

Practice had broken up after that, due to awkwardness as much as anything. Asuma and his team were walking down the street in silence.

" Naruto-kun…do you only eat at the ramen stand because you can't eat anywhere else?" asked Hinata, breaking the silence.

" Well, that and I really like ramen." Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head. " I kind though that if I let that out it would sound better."

Asuma grabbed Kiba over the mouth, muffling him, and pulled him down a different street, leaving Hinata and Naruto alone.

" I-if you want, you could have dinner at the Hyuuga manor tonight. We wouldn't need to stay in the dining hall."

" Really? I'd like that, Hinata-chan." Naruto said with a genuine smile.

---

Hanabi was surprised at how late her sister was. Dinner was over and she still wasn't home. She'd wanted to talk with her or do something. The academy had been rather boring that day, so she felt restless.

She left the dining hall as the servants began to come in and take away the dirty dishes. She headed for her room, passing by a window that overlooked her mothers garden on the way. She skidded to a halt. Sitting on the small bench in the middle of the garden was her sister and Naruto. A mischievous smile took to her face and she rushed out.

" Hey!" she said bossily, walking out onto the garden. " What are you doing with my sister out here?"

" Go away, Hanabi." Hinata said dryly.

" Are you to kissing?" Hanabi teased.

" Are we?" Naruto asked jokingly, turning to Hinata. To his and Hanabi's shock she leaned over and kissed him tenderly.

" I-I g-guess we are." Naruto said, sounding stunned. Hanabi giggled.

" I'll take our bowls back to the kitchen, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, a deep red blush taking to her face. She began to walk towards the door.

" So, _Naruto-kun_," said Hanabi with teasing inflection. " You really like Hinata, huh?"

" Well, the one eye's kinda weird," Naruto said without thinking. Hanabi and Hinata, who was maybe ten feet away, sweat dropped. " But she's pretty and nice. So yeah, I do."

" You idiot! Why did you mention her eye, you idiot!" Hanabi said, pouncing on Naruto and beginning to beat him about the head.

" Hanabi! Please stop hitting Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, rushing over and trying to stop her sisters assault on hey boyfriend.

---

" Idiots." Neji said to himself, watching from the window.


	8. Chapter 8

" So he was completely incapable of escaping genjutsu?" asked the Third. Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy had assembled in his office for a report on their genin. As always with the Hokage, he had a almost grandfatherly interest in Naruto, so they spent a inordinate amount of time discussing him.

" Yes, Hokage. He couldn't shut his chakra off completely or reverse the weakest genjutsu I could produce." Kurenai replied.

" Well, that is troubling. It seems like chakra expulsion is his only option then, but I would…still prefer we not teach it to him for now." The Hokage said mysteriously. He had met with them before the practice to request them to not teach Naruto the technique.

" Dad, cut the crap. Why? With chakra like he's got, there isn't a genjutsu user in the world that could stop him if he used the expulsion technique." Asuma said unceremoniously. Kurenai also looked displeased at having been forced to give a partial lesson. " If it's the chakra backlash your worried about, I think it would be better to hurt himself then be stuck in a genjutsu."

" But, no one has ever used that much chakra in that technique before." said the Hokage, tapping ash from his pipe. " You have seen what beginning to tap into his reserves do to his body, even with his limited regeneration. Imagine," he said dramatically. " What would happen if he, in a typical move for a boy his age, tried tapping and expulsing all his chakra at once."

Asuma fell silent as he saw his other genin burnt.

" I don't imagine Naruto would be too kind on himself if there were any repercussions. Until he learns better chakra control and to control the foxes chakra, none of you are to teach him the technique." The Hokage's tone indicated the issue was closed. " Now, we come to another situation regarding Naruto. In a four days ambassadors from the Stone village will arrive to discuss the incident on the border. I think it would be best if a certain boy were on a mission at that time. Asuma, in three days I want you to take your team south to the coast. It's nearing the season the raids start, so we will be sending several teams to reinforce the villages anyways."

" With pleasure." Asuma replied. The Hokage silently celebrated the rare occasion his son didn't talk back.

---

" Again!" shouted Asuma.

Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata readied themselves as another squad of clones charged. Kiba blocked a furious kick at his head and knocked the clone away with a swipe of a clawed hand.

" We're really getting this Beast Clone jutsu down, Akamaru!" he shouted to the transformed dog, who barked something as he delivered an uppercut to a clone. Meanwhile, Hinata was gracefully dodging around the clones improved attacks, delivering fast, lethal Jyuuken strikes. The combination of strength and skill was a beautiful thing to see.

Suddenly, she stumbled. She looked down and saw a clone had burrowed though the ground and grabbed her feet, stopping her from dodging. Two other clones grabbed her arms and held them behind her back, restraining her.

" One down!" shouted the lead clone.

" Good job, Naruto!" Asuma called. The kid was getting pretty good at coordinating his clones. Kiba took a punch to the face a second later and fell to the ground as the Naruto clones piled on. " All right, take five!"

" Finally." sighed Kiba as the clones vanished. The real Naruto, barely injured, walked over. Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru were covered with scuff marks from hours of fighting clones.

" Seriously, sensei, when can we learn the shadow clone? I don't care if it won't be as good as Naruto's. I just don't want to be so hopelessly outnumbered against him for once." Kiba whined.

" Come on. When I had you and Hinata fight you wanted to fight someone who was slower and easier to hit, which sounds like Naruto to me." Naruto pouted as Asuma mentioned him. " You can fight her again if you want."

" No, no, I'm good." Kiba said quickly, remembering the numbness when Hinata had shut the chakra in his arm off earlier. Hinata giggled at his obvious discomfort.

" Yeah, Kiba, your pretty to tough too. Hinata's might be harder to dodge, but your hits are way harder and hurt more." Naruto said, plopping down next to Hinata.

" Aw, come on. You've just been standing there while your clones get beaten." Kiba shot back.

" Kiba, I get their memories, remember?" Naruto replied.

" Oh." said Kiba, blinking. " I forgot. So, I really do hit hard?"

" Of course, Kiba. Why do you think we always say that?" said Hinata.

" Sorry to interrupt, but you four probably want to know why I'm having you guys practice extra hard today in combat drills." Asuma said, taking a seat by the tired genin.

" And why we spent the entirety of yesterday practicing patrols?" Akamaru woofed. Kiba translated quickly for the pooped puppy.

" Yep. The Hokage was pretty impressed with how you handled yourself during the Stone mission." Asuma said, bending the truth slightly to encourage his genin. Four eager smiles was his reward. " And he's decided that we are up to another big mission, though not near the Stone country."

" All right! What are we doing?" Kiba said, throwing his arms into the air.

" Were going to head to a coastal village in the south called Ganshou. About this time of year some of the villages on the coast get raided and teams are sent down there to protect them. Ganshou is a small village, but we are going to be the only team defending it, so we'll need to stay alert. It'll take two days to get there and we will be there for three weeks before our replacements arrive. The whole mission will last twenty five days, and will be paid as a C-Rank mission of that length."

" Sweet." said Kiba excitedly.

" What kind of raiders are they, Asuma-sensei?" inquired Hinata.

" Pirates, Hinata. We might get to fight pirates."

---

The rest of the day the genin drilled with a renewed vigor. Asuma didn't have the heart to tell them that the ports and big villages got attacked more, and that a small fishing village like Ganshou was the lowest priority for pirates. Near sunset, he sent the tired and sore genin home.

" Eat a good dinner and breakfast and go to bed early. I want you all in top shape tomorrow. Meet me at the south gate at the usual time." Asuma said as the genin walked off, waving.

" Hey, Hinata, I'm going to go get some ramen. See you tomorrow!" Naruto said, running off. Hinata waved to him.

" So, you two are dating pretty seriously?" Kiba asked. Hinata blushed.

" Y-yes, when we have time." Hinata replied, butterflies filling her stomach at the thought. She didn't think the feeling of being close to Naruto would ever get old.

" How'd he like dinner at your house?" teased Kiba. Hinata's blush spread from her cheeks to her whole face. " Sorry, I'll stop. See you, Hinata." Kiba waved as he turned down another street.

Hinata walked alone the short distance back to the Hyuuga manor. Neji was back from his practice and training in the courtyard as usual. He barely looked at her, still furious from the incident a few days previous with Kiba. Hinata hadn't mentioned it, but Hanabi had made sure most of the family knew. Neji's embarrassment was almost as great as his anger. She walked past him in silence and went to her room to clean up.

---

" Hey, did Tsume come by and pay my bill yet?" asked Naruto. Ayame looked blankly at him. " What?" he asked.

Naruto hadn't noticed, but the ramen stand had a new roof, new bowls, new stools, a new counter, and new, brighter lanterns.

" Yes, Naruto." Ayame said with a sigh.

" Oh. Well, I guess I'm paying again. I'm going to be gone for almost a month, so I'm going to try for my record again." Naruto reached for his frog wallet and pulled it out. He opened it, releasing a fly. His wallet was totally empty. He looked down and noticed he had already eaten our bowls.

" Hey Naruto!" Naruto turned and saw Iruka walking up. " I hope you didn't just pay because I'll treat you two a few bowls."

_Lucky!_ thought Naruto.

" Hey Iruka-sensei! How have you been?" Naruto asked as his former teacher took a seat by him.

" Pretty good. Do you know a boy called Konohamaru?" Iruka asked.

" Yeah." Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head. " Kinda."

" Well, its only been a few weeks but he's already more famous as a disruption than you were." said Iruka with a smile. " Apparently, the rumor is he's emulating you."

" Heh heh. Sorry." Naruto replied nervously.

" Not your fault. And anyways, he could do worse. So, I've heard all the rumors, you want to tell me what really happened on that mission?" Iruka asked as the ramen arrived. Naruto smiled widely, ate a mouthful of ramen, and launched into the story.

---

" Every time I learn about the Fourth I get even more impressed. That was a good thing to do to your seal." Iruka said, sounding amazed.

" Yeah. I wouldn't have thought of that." Naruto replied.

" Sounds like Hinata's getting a lot better two. Are the rumors about you two true as well?" Iruka teased. Naruto's blush confirmed it for him. Iruka gave Naruto a fatherly smile. " Well, good for you. Kiba getting any better?"

" Well, Akamaru is." Naruto said with a laugh. " I don't know about the kid that hangs out with him, though." A question Naruto had wanted to ask for a while entered Naruto's mind. " Hey, sensei, I know you don't get to train much because your always teaching, but what kind of jutsu do you know?"

" Why do you want to know?" asked Iruka, disguising the eagerness in his voice. He had waited for a student to ask that every day since he became a teacher.

" Well, I never realized how many techniques there are, and I know its hard to become a chunnin, so you have to have some cool techniques." Naruto said, Iruka smiled widely.

" Well, its true I havn't trained in a long time and my skills aren't that great, but I used to be really good at trap and barrier seals. On my missions as a chunnin, before I became a teacher, I was usually the one who set up traps so we couldn't be followed or capture enemy ninja for interrogation." Iruka said boastfully. " I was never really good at hand to hand combat, but with planning, which I was good at, I could beat most opponents."

" That's really cool, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said, imagining the techniques. " How come you never told us that in school?"

" Well, I didn't want to sound like I was bragging." Iruka replied.

" Well, you should have. It makes you sound cooler."

That settled it. Tomorrow he was going to demonstrate his jutsu to his class.

---

" Sorry I'm late! We saw cat number three and we couldn't pass up a shot at catching it." Kiba said, running up to the gate. Hinata had been early, Naruto had almost been on time, and Kiba was his typical fifteen minutes late.

" Kiba, since you were last, you get to carry this." Asuma said, handing him the heavy pack.

" What is it?" Kiba asked, taking the bag. He already had a backpack full of his and Akamaru's supplies, so it was going to be difficult to carry.

" That is our pack of extra shuriken, exploding tags, and kunai. For missions like this it always pays to have extra." Asuma said, glad to be free of the bag. " From now on, when we leave on a mission, the last one here has to carry the extra supplies."

" Wait, exploding tags?" Kiba said. He, Akamaru, Naruto said, looking excited. Hinata looked confused at their interest.

" Boys like bombs." Asuma said to her. She nodded, obviously not understanding the fascination. " All right, lets go." Asuma said, walking out of the village.

---

" This walk is way better than the trip in the Stone country." Naruto said. They had been walking for several hours while Kiba struggled with the bag, grumbling quietly.

" Why, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. The forest was beautiful and it was warmer, but the rock path still was making her feet sore.

" When's the last time Kiba mentioned rocks?" Naruto said, glancing back to the overburdened genin. He had tripped again and was swearing loudly.

" Kiba, don't fall behind." Asuma called back jokingly. Kiba glared at them all while Akamaru barked at them.

" Akamaru, don't swear like that or I'll tell your mother." said Hinata. Akamaru blinked his eyes, stunned.

" How'd you know what he was saying?" Asuma asked.

" I guessed." Hinata said, smirking. Naruto and Asuma laughed and kept walking, leaving Kiba struggling behind.

" Next time, we are showing up a hour early, Akamaru." Kiba growled. The small dog nodded.

---

The next day Asuma took the extra supplies, earning Kiba's eternal gratitude. The day passed quickly and near sunset they came to a top of a hill, revealing the village below.

" There appears to be a crowd by the gate, Asuma-sensei." Hinata said, activating her Byakugan and focusing.

" Their probably waiting to greet us. The smaller villagers don't get that many visitors, and having a team of Leaf ninja show up to guard them is a big deal. Plus, the team were replacing is waiting to show us the patrol routes and tell us about the area." Asuma said, lifting himself up and trying to look impressive as they walked down the road.

As they got close, it was obvious by the look on the villagers that they were unsure about them. The group that their team was waiting and looked far more professional. They were all grown and wore the standard uniform of the Leaf Ninja. However, they all bowed as Asuma got close.

" Sarutobi Asuma, a honor to meet you." said the chunnin leading the squad with a bow. A murmur went through the villagers. Hinata remembered that Asuma was a famous ninja, and the villagers were not likely expecting someone of his caliber to be assigned to the village.

" The honor's mine." Asuma said, lighting a new cigarette.

" I was not aware we were going to be replaced by a genin team. Are your students up to it?" the chunnin asked.

" More than. I'd put these brats against anyone." Asuma said dramatically. A old, important looking woman with a traditional bun hairstyle walked forwards.

" I am Kei Masako, the village elder." she said, introducing herself. " Skilled as your students may be, we paid for a team of fully qualified ninja."

" Well, you got a bargain then. To start with, I was one of the Twelve Guardsmen. There aren't any members of that group who were less than S-Rank combatants." Asuma said, drawing himself up to his full height. Naruto had never truly appreciated how large the man was before.

" Then, you have Akamaru here." Asuma said, petting the dogs head. " His father and mother were two of the fines dogs the Inuzuka family have produced in generations. He can already fight as well as what's his name here," Asuma pointed to Kiba, who pouted. " Last mission, they took out four chunnin with a single attack." The villagers all looked impressed.

" Then, there's Hinata here." Asuma motioned to the diminutive girl. " Heir of the Hyuuga clan." The villagers all looked at her, now highly interested. The Hyuuga were living legends. " She killed one of the Eleven Masters all by herself."

" Your joking." said a villager. Asuma shook his head no. There was a dead silence. The small girl with the eye patch didn't look that dangerous, but they were obviously impressed.

" And then there's Naruto here. Thirty should be enough." Naruto nodded as Asuma patted him on the shoulder, getting the message. He formed the shadow clone jutsu and there was a cloud of smoke, revealing several rows of identical copies. The villagers all gaped in awe. Hinata felt happy for Naruto, who stood there proudly. " If you get attacked, a couple hundred of these guys will be guarding you."

Asuma heard one of the ninja they were replacing whisper something.

" Well then, I welcome you to the village." said Elder Kei, looking more contented.

---

" All right, you four get some sleep. You'll be up bright and early tomorrow on patrol." Asuma said after they had been shown to their lodging, a modest building in town. The other ninja had removed their belongings already. " I'm going to get the area's information."

" Night, sensei." Naruto said, walking to his room tiredly.

" Good night." Hinata said as well.

" But we just got here!" whined Kiba before complying.

Asuma smiled. He really liked these kids. He walked into the map room where the patrol routes and the records were.

" All right, I want to know what was said about Naruto and I want to know now." he said, sitting in the seat at the head of the meeting table. The ninja looked at each other, seeming unsure.

" One of my men expressed his opinion that the demon child is more of a threat to the village than the raiders." said the chunnin, covering for his subordinates. He and the others quailed under the gaze that Asuma gave them.

" Did you mention the demon to any villagers?" Asuma asked in a growling voice. The ninja shook their heads for no. " Good. You listen well. If I ever hear you talking about my student like that again, I will kill you all. That is, if Hinata doesn't first. I'm damn tempted to have her shut your chakra flow off permanently. You get out of this village now." The ninja complied, leaving the room hastily. Asuma tried to focus and regain his calm. He had to figure out the patrols from the maps, now, so it was going to be a long night.

---

" Morning Hinata-chan!" Naruto said, emerging from his room.

" Good morning, Naruto-kun!" Hinata replied eagerly. She had spread out a collection of medical jutsu scrolls on the table, coving every square inch.

" Where's sensei?" Naruto said, taking a seat and looking at a scroll. It was way to complex for him, so he put if down quickly.

" I saw him earlier. He said he was going to run the patrol routes to get a feel for them." Hinata began to clear her scrolls off of the table. There was only one in the house, so she couldn't claim it for her own.

" I'm going to go see what the village is like. Wanna come?" offered Naruto. Hinata nodded quickly, stuffed her scrolls into her pack which she stowed in her room, and walked out the door with Naruto.

In his room, Kiba let out a loud snore.

---

Ganshou was a small village, with less than two hundred people in it, so it didn't take long to see the whole place. There were only single story townhouses and several docks, were boats of fishermen were already returning.

" Hey! Ninja boy!" said a small boy, running up with his friends. " How do you make those copies of yourself?"

" Their called shadow clones." Naruto said, taking a boastful stance. " You have to spend years learning to focus your chakra to do use a technique like that. And there's nobody as good at making clones as I am."

" Your lying." said the boy.

" Naruto-kun is not. Making more than a couple clones is difficult for even high ranked ninja." Hinata said, silencing the boy.

" How'd you lose your eye?" asked on of the kids.

" I got hit hard enough that my eye was damaged and had to be removed." Hinata said coldly, omitting the details of the hit.

" What's with your other eye?" asked a small girl. " Are you blind?"

" N-no. My eyes are called Byakugan. When I activate my eyes I can see in every direction and through things." Hinata said earnestly. The boys all looked to each other mischievously.

" So you can spy on people really easy?" one said. Hinata got the boys point and blushed heavily. " If that's all you can do, why are you so special? I bet I could beat you in a fight."

" Ha!" laughed Naruto. " Hinata could beat all of you in like a second!"

" Sticking up for your girlfriend? How romantic!" teased one of the small girls. Naruto and Hinata immediately blushed beet red. The kids all ran off, leaving them alone.

" Uh…want to get some breakfast?" Naruto suggested. Hinata nodded, and they set out on a quest for a ramen stand, though Hinata doubted there was one.

---

Kiba and Akamaru slumped out of their room and plopped down at the table. Asuma arrived seconds later, looking very tired.

" Kiba, you seen the other two?" he asked, taking a seat and pulling out the map of patrol routes. Kiba nodded no. " Well, your in charge then."

" What, really?" said Kiba, sleepiness gone.

" Yep. I went and ran all the patrol routes last night. I'm going to take the night shift while were here. it's the most dangerous time, so I want to run it. The village watchmen will also be up then. You, Hinata, and Naruto have the morning, day, and evening shifts. How do you want to divide it up, Kiba? I want two people here at all times, one on patrol, and one resting."

" Lets take the morning shift." Akamaru yipped.

" Uh…" Kiba began, thinking it over. He wished he had planning skills like Naruto. " I guess me and Akamaru will take the mornings. We usually get up to chase the mailmen anyways."

" Kiba, its almost nine." said Asuma.

" Well, we slept in today!" Kiba replied defensively. " Hinata stays up late studying medical jutsu, so she'll need to sleep in I guess. She can take the day shift which leaves the evenings open for her. Naruto can have the evenings. Uh, since that's a good time to attack because everyones tired and going to sleep, he can use his clones to patrol really well." Kiba adlibbed heavily.

" You just made that all up, but its actually a decent plan." Kiba smiled at his teachers praise. " Well, I'll tell Naruto and Hinata. You two go run the route and come tell Hinata."

Kiba and Akamaru raced out the door eagerly. Asuma looked back down at the map. It wasen't a long route and took them in a good circle of the area, and during their shift they could run it a few times. Each of them had six hours on patrol each day, which gave them plenty of time off to rest.

_This is a great mission._ Asuma thought, stretching in the warm sun.

---

" Their looking at us so weirdly." Naruto whispered, taking a bite of sushi. There was only one restaurant in town, so they had to settle on that. There was mostly fish on the menu, and to Naruto's horror, no ramen. They had paid the cook, who had been as friendly to Naruto as the old man and girl at the ramen stand. It had, sufficed to say, unnerved them.

Hinata looked around at the villagers they could see. They looked either friendly or curious.

" What's wrong, Naruto-kun? They seem normal to me." she asked.

" Oh. Normal." Naruto said, blinking. " Wait. Normal. They don't know about the fox."

Hinata gasped. She hadn't even though about that.

" No one here hates me." Naruto said, sounding amazed. " I can go to any shop I want. I can buy a replacement for my old jacket!" His excited voice drew the attention of several villagers. Then, his face fell. " I only brought a little money for food, though. I wonder if I could do something for money here."

" Naruto-kun, I have my allowance. I-I could buy you something." offered Hinata. A wide smile came over Naruto's face.

" Thanks, Hinata, but you don't have to. Its your money, so I'd rather you spend it on yourself." He wouldn't mind a present, but other than Iruka he didn't like people paying for things for him. Hinata blushed and smiled.

Shortly after they returned to the house the village had given them and Asuma told them about their patrol times before going to bed. Kiba had six in the morning until noon, Hinata had noon to six, Naruto had six to midnight, and Asuma had midnight until six in the morning. He also told them to make sure to use their skills to aid them in their patrols. Despite Naruto's protests, Asuma said that when he was asleep Kiba was in charge.

" Hey!" Kiba said, walking in. " I'm done. Your turn, Hinata. Watch for the mud puddle by the fallen tree." Hinata nodded to him and headed out. " Hey, Naruto, anyplace good to eat here?"

" There's only one place, and all they have is fish." Naruto said, sounding disappointed.

" Really? I love fish! See ya!" Kiba waved and ran off, not asking for directions.

Left alone, Naruto wandered around the town for a moment. It was strange how everyone seemed so nice to him. A shopkeeper offered him a free apple, a couple kids invited him to play, and not once was he told to leave. The stores didn't have a lot, but it was still really fun to be able to look around. Finally he came to the town tailor.

" Welcome!" greeted the shopkeeper who offered his hand. " You the clone ninja, right?"

" Uzamaki Naruto." he said, shaking the mans hand. " I kinda need a new jacket. Do you have any I could look at?"

" I probably don't have the selection your used to in Kohona, but I have a couple." the shopkeeper replied, showing Naruto to a rack of coats. " I can resize them to you if you want."

Naruto looked though the coats. There weren't any orange ones, but there were a few near his size.

" I actually don't have enough money now, but I wanted to look to see if there were any I liked." he said embarrassed.

" Oh, that's not a problem. A lot of people just browse here." the shopkeeper replied, not looking upset. " Feel free to look as long as you want."

Naruto looked though all the coats and clothes. The tailor didn't seem to mind him even though he wasn't going to but anything,

" Just a question, but why aren't you trying anything on?" the tailor asked after a while. " See if its your size?"

" I can do that?" Naruto asked. The tailor looked shocked.

" Well, sure. Don't they let you do that in Kohona?" he asked as Naruto tried on a jacket near his size.

" Most of the shopkeepers won't let me in the stores." Naruto said without thinking.

" Really? Why?" asked the shopkeeper. Naruto cursed himself. _Why'd I say that_?

" I, uh, I used to be a big prankster and they are afraid I'd do something." Naruto said unconvincingly. The tailor eyed him, then decided to let it end there.

Naruto left shortly after that. He'd been enjoying looking around. Why'd he have to go and ruin it? The tailor probably would not want him to come by. He walked back towards their house, annoyed with himself.


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto was sitting on the steps to the house the village had given them, waiting for Hinata to get back. It was almost his time to head out on patrol. He had finally gotten used to no one staring at him hatefully, and except for when he almost revealed his secret to the shopkeeper, which he hit himself on the head for, he had had a excellent day. The village was really nice.

He was worried, though. The villagers were off the beaten path but they weren't isolated. If they were curious they might be able to find out more about him and discover what he really was. He didn't want to lose his status as someone normal.

He resolved to not give the villagers any idea he contained a demon, even if it meant shutting up.

---

The first week passed quickly for everyone.

Kiba and Akamaru, being their usual selves, immediately got into trouble by terrorizing one of the villagers cats. They immediately became liked by the younger children in the village and spent time playing with them. Hinata buried herself in her medical jutsu, only stopping her studies to go eat or do her shift patrolling. Asuma was a little concerned about her single-mindedness, but the assertiveness she showed towards her studies seemed positive. Naruto seemed his usual cheery self, but around the villagers he became unusually quiet.

On the eighth day Hinata woke to Kiba loudly clomping though the building on his way to leave on patrol. She yawned and stretched, then threw off of the covers and dressed. She put the eye patch on last, looking at the mirror sadly. She forced the feeling away and left her bedroom, heading for the restaurant to get breakfast.

" Good morning, ninja-chan!" greeted the little girl who's parents ran the restaurant. She smiled and greeted the girl back. The girl ran off quickly to tell her parents Hinata's order.

" Such a sweet little girl, isn't she?" Hinata turned and saw elder Kei walking up. The old woman took a seat by her.

" She is, elder Kei." Hinata replied, trying to sound respectful.

" So, what do you think of Ganshou? We don't have much to offer, but it's a nice place." asked Kei.

" I like the village. It's quiet and peaceful." Hinata said, wondering why the old woman asked.

" Yes, it is. That's why I fell in love with it. I used to be a ninja myself." said the old woman with a smile.

" Really?" Hinata asked, surprised. The old woman didn't seem the type.

" Oh, yes. I retired about forty years ago and left Kohona. I wanted a slower pace of life." The old woman looked lost in memory for a moment. " I've noticed that your team mates, the boys, both have facial tattoos. Has that become the style these days? I don't remember that many back in my day."

Hinata blinked for a moment, thinking. Kiba has the Inuzuka clan facial tattoo, but Naruto didn't…then she remembered the whisker marks.

" Kiba and Naruto's clans both have traditional tattoos." Hinata lied. " But most people don't get them."

" Oh, good. I never liked them much." The old woman looked at her forehead for a moment. " Do the Hyuuga still mark the branch families?"

" Yes. Why?" Hinata replied.

" Oh, just wondering. It's rather hard to keep up of the news of Kohona, but I try. There's been a great deal happening lately, hasn't there?"

Hinata tried not to react, seeing exactly where this was going. Elder Kei had heard the rumors about the demon from the ninja they replaced.

" That Kiba boy, for instance. I heard there was a rather rowdy boy about his age in the village that bore a particular seal." The old woman said, glancing to make sure no one was listening to them.

Hinata blinked.

" I am not asking you to betray your teammate…but if he happened to be that boy, I would like to know." Elder Kei looked at Hinata, obviously trying to read her face. " He is, isn't he?" she asked.

" I…" Hinata could only stutter. Her only choice in clearing Kiba was revealing Naruto, which she refused to do. But if the villagers turned against Kiba, her friend…

" Well, I've pried further than I should. But I would suggest finding a new teammate. Keep that Naruto boy around, though. He's a quiet, nice boy." the old woman said, turning and walking away.

When her food arrived, Hinata didn't feel much like eating.

---

" Man, this is a great mission!" Akamaru woofed, leaping over a small fallen log.

" Yeah! Even if we don't get to fight anyone, getting paid just to run around is pretty awesome!" Kiba agreed, leaping to the branch of a tree. He'd came to the end of the patrol route where there was a copse of trees on a small peninsula, overlooking the ocean.

Kiba looked out over the sea, hoping to catch a glimpse of a sail or ship. Naruto had raised a false alarm twice already, so he was going to make sure he didn't mess up. He stared out, wishing he had Hinata's eyes.

He nearly fell out of the tree when an arrow thumped into the wood by him.

" Akamaru!" Kiba called, leaping down. " Can you smell them?"

" Follow me!" Akamaru yipped, bounding though the brush. Kiba followed and soon came face to face with a pair of rough looking men with bows and swords.

" Hey, its just a kid." said one of them.

" He's from the Leaf!" the other said, throwing his bow down and drawing his blade. He leapt at Kiba, who dodged back.

" Sweet! Akamaru, I can take them." Kiba said, smirking and lowering into his position for the Four Legs jutsu. Akamaru sat down and smirked.

The pirate with the katana swung it at Kiba with a yell, but Kiba dove under the blade and launched himself in a flying punch into the mans stomach. The man was thrown back into a tree, which splintered. The other man panicked at this and turned to run. Before he had even taken a step Kiba was in front of him and knocked him out with a single punch.

" Good job Kiba!" woofed Akamaru. " Lets take these guys back to Asuma."

" Yeah, but I can only carry one of them. Your going to have to use the Beast Clone." Kiba said, drawing some cords to tie the men's hands.

Akamaru yipped in agreement, and soon they were heading towards the village with the prisoners.

" Lets take the left trail." he suggested.

" That one's got all that mud. I'm going to take the right one." Kiba said as they came to the fork in the path. " Its quicker."

" No it isn't!" Akamru snapped back.

" Race ya?" suggested Kiba. Akamaru smirked and took off down the left trail."

---

Elder Kei was not happy.

The fact that the "demon boy", who scared most of the ninja of Kohona, was in her village was a serious problem. She had never dreamed of the boy being in her village. She's even seen the creature playing with some of the village children! She walked down the street, contemplating her options, fingering the kunai she kept hidden up her sleeve. She hadn't fought or trained in years, but she could still remember some of her old moves.

She could send message to Kohona that she wanted a replacement team, but that would cost extra and the village didn't have that. She could also warn the villagers about the boy and have them keep away from him, but she had heard Asuma threatening to kill the replacements when they mentioned the boy. Her hearing was rather bad and she hadn't been as close as she wanted, but she had understood that. The jounin's defensiveness about the boy was strange. More than likely he was making sure the boy was not bothered to keep him under control. She had heard that such containers were unstable.

Then, Kiba, landed in front of her, a severely beaten man tied on his back. He was wearing a broad fanged smile and has grown claws, his entire body and posture taking on a monstrous form. He let out some sort of snarling sound.

Elder Kei quickly drew her hidden weapon, knowing the village was in danger.

---

" All right!" Akamaru yipped, taking a massive leap off a branch and into the village. He landed triumphantly with his prisoner. " In your face, Kiba!" he barked.

He suddenly coughed, looking down. There was a kunai embedded in his chest.

" Die, demon." Akamaru looked up and saw Elder Kei standing a short distance away. Akamaru coughed again and felt the jutsu failing. He transformed back into a dog and fell to the ground.

---

" Stupid Akamaru." growled Kiba. " You could have reminded me the right trail had all those spiders, but no, don't tell me."

Kiba came out of the trees and into the village. He was tired from the dash and felt the jutsu fail. He began walking up the street, looking for Akamaru. Had he beaten him?

Then, he saw Akamaru and the still unconscious prisoner laying in the middle of the street, a shocked looking old woman he knew he was suppose to recognize a short distance away.

" Hey, Akamaru., you win." Kiba said, trotting up. He then noticed the kunai embedded in Akamaru. " Shit! Hey, old lady, who did this?" Kiba asked, dropping his prisoner and rushing to Akamaru. The old woman looked to Kiba, visably stunned.

Kiba inspected the wound. The kunai was in Akamaru fairly deep and he had lost a lot of blood.

" Make sure these guys don't get away! I have to get Akamaru to Hinata!" Kiba picked up the dog gentily and rushed towards their lodging.

" Hinata!" Kiba yelled as he walked in. The girl looked up from a scroll immediately. " Akamaru's hurt!"

Hinata and Kiba swept the scrolls off the table and set Akamaru down on it. Hinata began inspecting the wound.

" Kiba, go boil some water. We'll need it." Hinata ordered. Kiba rushed off to the kitchen with haste.

" Why?" whined Akamaru softly. Hinata was able to guess the meaning.

" To get rid of Kiba. This is going to hurt a lot, Akamaru." Hinata said, performing the Heavenly Palm jutsu. The small dog nodded and braced himself.

Akamaru let out a whine as Hinata pulled the blade out. She immediately held her palm to the wound and began focusing the healing energy. She had practiced a lot since the last time she had treated someone, and the wound began to heal quickly. She accidentally sealed the opening too soon, however, making it impossible to see the internal injury. In a stroke of inspiration, she activated her Byakugan, allowing her to see the injury completely. The chakra drain was heavy, though, so she didn't linger, knitting the tissue as fast as she could. When she finished she deactivated her eyes sat back, breathing heavy.

" Eat this." she told Akamaru, digging though her medical pack and holding out a plasma pill. Akamaru munched on it weakly and lay down, resting. Kiba came back a moment later with a steaming kettle.

" Akamaru! Is he all right?" Kiba said worriedly.

" He's going to be fine, Kiba. I healed the wound completely. He'll need a few days rest, though." Hinata said.

They were interrupted by Asuma walking out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Naruto also emerged from his room, still wearing his walrus cap.

" What's going on?" asked Naruto, surveying the scene.

" Akamaru got attacked!" Kiba said quickly.

" Explain." Asuma ordered.

Kiba told them the story of catching the two men in the forest, the race against Akamaru on the way back, and finding Akamaru. Hinata gasped and covered her mouth when he mentioned seeing elder Kei.

" Kiba, come with me to get the prisoners. Naruto, send out a group of clones on every patrol route." Asuma said, pushing his chair back and running from the room. Kiba followed quickly. After the teams of clones had left, Hinata pulled Naruto aside.

" Naruto-kun…I think what happened to Akamaru is my fault." Hinata said, looking ashamed.

" Hey, hey, that's not true! It's not like you threw the kunai." Naruto said, trying to sound cheerful. " You didn't, did you?" he asked.

" No, but Elder Kei…when she saw Akamaru in the Beast Clone form…might have thought he was…" Hinata said, tearing up.

" I know they look scary in that form, but if he didn't attack anyone, I don't think anyone would be afraid." Naruto said, trying to be reassuring.

" But Elder Kei asked about the demon!" Hinata cried, tears streaming down her face. " She thinks Kiba is the one with the demon in him and I didn't correct her because I didn't want her to know."

Naruto was stunned. " Why did she think Kiba was the one with the demon in him?"

" She heard from the ninja that there was a loud boy his age with the demon in him. She also said you were quiet." Hinata replied tearfully.

" No way…" Naruto said, guilt striking him. He'd been quiet around the villagers for the last few days because he was sure if he talked he'd slip up and mention the demon fox like the idiot he was. Now, Akamaru had been hurt because he'd hidden his secret.

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other sorrowfully, each blaming themselves.

---

" There they are!" shouted Kiba, running behind Asuma. Asuma had already spotted the tied up prisoners. Elder Kei was standing nearby, as was a group of villagers.

" See if you can wake one up. We need to interrogate them now." Asuma said, leaning over to one of the men and slapping him in the face lightly. Kiba went to the other and began to shake him.

" What's going on?" demanded one of the villagers.

" I think these two could be part of a scout party. They attacked my student while he was patrolling." Asuma snapped back.

" Or, they could be innocent travelers your pet terrorized." said Kei, walking forward. " I know about the demon fox." A murmur went though the villagers.

Asuma looked at her in confusion. Naruto hadn't been involved in the fight. Then, he looked to Kiba, understanding. The villagers were already backing away from him.

" Sensei, he's awake!" Kiba called, oblivious to what was going on around him. " What are we going to ask him?" Kiba looked up and noticed everyone's stares. " What?" he asked, looking confused.

" Get this kid away from me!" cried the prisoner. " I'll talk! Just keep him away! I saw what he did to Irsu!" The man began to struggle.

" Kiba, give me some room." Asuma said, moving to the man. " Are you scouts?"

" Yeah. We were going up the coast, checking for easy villages to hit. This was supposed to be a good one." said the prisoner.

" This is just a fishing village. There's nothing here worth stealing." Asuma growled.

" Were not looting. We slavers. A village like this is worth a lot more than any ship."

Asuma held his knife to the mans throat.

" When is your ship coming?" Asuma said, holding his knife to the mans skin just enough to scratch it.

" Tonight. We were going to join up with them a ways from here and tell them about this place."

Asuma smiled, formulating a plan.

" Your going to tell us where you were going to meet them. Kiba, help me move them to our lodging. I want to get them secured better." Asuma said, hoping to get Kiba away from the crowd. Kiba grabbed the unconscious man and hauled him into the building.

---

" They think I'm Naruto?" Kiba asked incredulously.

Once they had gotten back to their building and made sure no one was listening, everyone had explained what they knew of the situation.

" I probably started it with my joke, not giving them your name." Asuma said guiltily. " We can't worry about that at the moment. We need to plan for the pirates."

" Right." agreed Kiba.

" So, according to our prisoner they were going to meet up with their ship before the attack. I'm going to make a shadow clone, transform, and board the ship. Naruto, make a bunch of shadow clones. We'll lure them into the village first and ambush them. Hinata, you take the villagers a short distance away and give them out extra weapons. It's your job to keep them safe. Kiba and Akamaru, you'll help me and Naruto in the village."

" Akamaru shouldn't move for at least a day." Hinata interrupted.

" Yeah, I don't want him fighting in his condition. I can't use my Beast Clone or Piercing Fang without him either, so I won't be much help." Kiba said, sounding downtrodden.

" Don't worry, Kiba. I'm sure you can take these guys without those jutsu." Asuma said reassuringly.

" Hinata, go tell the villagers to head out. Your in charge of them."

Hinata bowed and left.

---

" Are you sure this plan is wise?" asked Elder Kei as the villagers left the village. Hinata had to force them to only take their most precious possessions with them so they could move quickly.

" Asuma-sensei is a good leader. This way we can keep you all safe." Hinata said, not making eye contact with the old woman. She was very angry with the town elder and didn't want that to cause a problem.

" Since the demon is going to fighting, it probably is for the best." Elder Kei suddenly got a cold look on her face.

Hinata was sure if she hadn't had years of practice not reacting to her father, she would have killed the woman where she stood. It was like she was insulting Naruto and Kiba at the same time, and she felt ashamed at not standing up for her friends.

" It would be rather convenient if he was killed here, don't you think? Perhaps that is what the Hokage was hoping for, sending him on these missions."

Hinata didn't realize she had moved, but she found herself holding her fingers inches from the old woman's face, a glowing Jyuuken strike charged.

" If you say one more thing, you filthy hag, I will kill you." she hissed though her teeth. The old woman blinked, looking terrified. Hinata withdrew her arm and walked with the villagers into the forest.

---

" There you guys are!" shouted one of the pirates as the longboats neared the meeting place. Asuma's clone and he were disguised as the two pirates, though they looked dirty and cut up. " What the hell happened to you two?"

" This damn village's surrounded by shit. We can't get though by land. We're going to have to come up into the harbor." Asuma said, entering the long boat. He counted nearly sixty pirates in seven boats. " But, the good news is, there isn't a single guard in the place. Guess they didn't want to shill out for any guards."

Asuma felt triumphant as the pirates laughed in glee, believing the misinformation.

---

" Nice little village." said the pirate next to Asuma as then pushed the boat onto shore. " How stupid can you be? The sun's barely down and there isn't a person in sight."

The pirates began to creep up the small beach into town, weapons drawn. To Asuma's relief most of their weapons looked rather shoddily made. He doubted there were any real professional fighters in this group.

" Hey!" yelled Naruto, who was standing on a roof. The pirates looked up at him, surprised. " You guys better get out of town or I'll kick your ass!"

The pirates laughed.

" Damn kid. Probably woke everyone up." said one of the pirates. " Dib's on killing him!"

" No need to call dibs. There's plenty of me." Naruto said with a foxy grin. Dozens of clones appeared on the roofs, surrounding the pirates. They were each holding a oversized shuriken.

" Crap, we got a ninja! I thought you said they had no guards!" shouted a pirate, turning to Asuma. He stepped back, since the pirate had been replaced by a large, tough looking man cracking his knuckles.

The clones threw the large shuriken in unison. Some of the pirates were hit, but the throws were not very accurate. However, after they struck, the oversized shuriken all transformed back into the clones they really were. Suddenly, the pirates found themselves flanked, surrounded, and trapped.

" Lets get them!" shouted Asuma charging in.

In unison the army of clones began to attack. The pirates tried to fight back, but they were scattered and surprised. Within seconds they were breaking and running, groups taking off in random directions, trying to fight their way though the clones.

Asuma blocked one of the groups with a cloud of ash and hacked and beat his way though. All at once these guys would have been a problem, but they weren't much more than rabble at the moment.

Kiba bowled though another group, sending the pirates smashing to the ground. With the Four Legs jutsu he was way faster and stronger than any of them, and he was rather pissed because of Akamaru. He knew he was beating the pirates harder than necessary, but he didn't feel like pulling punches today.

" You guys! Go head those guys off!" shouted a clone on a roof to a squad of clones that had just finished off a pair of pirates. " All right!" shouted the clones, racing after the feeling slavers. Another clone got hit and vanished, giving the others the location of the attacker. Naruto formed a team of reinforcements and sent them towards the area the clones had been taking the casualties in.

Asuma sent a man crashing into a wall with a lazy boot. These guys fought about as well as Naruto had back when they'd first formed the team. There was just one pirate left, who timidly held his sword out towards Asuma. Asuma channeled chakra though his knife and swung, lashing out with the wind energy. The pirates sword was cut in half neatly at the handle. The man looked at his sword, let out a small cry, and fainted.

Kiba punched a pirate, sending him to the ground in a spray of blood and teeth. These guys were losers. Cat number two hundred and four put up more of a fight.

" Got ya!" said Naruto, delivering a kick to a pirates midsection. " Anyone see any others?" he called to the rooftop clones, how gazed around before shaking their heads no. " All right everyone, lets clean these guys up! Bring them to the main street and tie them up!" The clone's saluted and began to haul the defeated pirates away.

---

Hinata stood on the top of the hill the villagers were hiding behind, watching the battle unfold. It had gone well, and she was waiting for Asuma's signal to bring the villagers back. They were going to clean the battle up first and make sure things were secure, so it was going to take a while.

Suddenly, five fleeing pirates came running out of the forest towards them. Hinata signaled for the villagers to stay put and ran to intercept.

" Get out of our way, girl!" shouted on of the pirates, waving a sword. Hinata activated her Byakugan and deftly rolled under the blade, coming up and delivering a Jyuuken tap to the mans head. He slumpe heavily to the ground.

" L-lay down your weapons." Hinata said commandingly. Three of the pirates looked willing, but the other swung his sword at her. She dodged to the side.

" Divine Sixty-Four Strikes." she whispered, channeling the chakra for the jutsu. Suddenly the world slowed and she stuck forward, her arm a silvery blur. The shut every chakra point on the pirates body, paralyzing him, then knocked him back as hard as she could. The man flew limply nearly twenty feet, landing and rolling down the hill. The other pirates set their weapons down hastily and moved away from them, sitting down.

Thanks to her Byakugan, Hinata could see the astonished looks on the villagers faces.

---

" We kick ass!" Naruto cheered as Hinata and the villagers came into view. " Hey, Hinata-chan, did you see us?"

" I did, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, smiling to him. " Is everyone all right?"

" Think so, Hinata." said Asuma, strolling up. " I sent a messenger pigeon to Kohona. Their sending ANBU to pick up the prisoners. We have them all tied up near the beach so no one go down their."

" Where is the demon? I demand he stay outside the village." said Elder Kei.

" Okay. See ya! I'll be by the start of the patrol route." Naruto said, waving goodbye. " Hey, Hinata, tell Kiba I hope Akamaru gets better soon." Naruto raced off. Elder Kei and the villagers looked confused.

" Naruto's the one with the demon fox sealed in him." Asuma said to Kei coldly. " It doesn't have any control over him, but some idiots are still afraid of him."

" But I thought the other boy…" began Kei.

" He's just a Inuzuka. Hinata told me you used to be a ninja, so I guess you weren't very good. The Inuzuka are one of Kohona's clans that use their dogs as helpers in battle. One of their techniques transforms the person and dog, giving them claws and things like that." Asuma said, turning his back. " The puppy you attacked is currently healing up and Kiba's guarding the prisoners."

Elder Kei stood silently as Hinata and Asuma walked towards the beach.

---

Naruto was sitting on the hill overlooking the village. It was a unfortunate he couldn't go back in anymore, but Kiba didn't deserve to be ostracized by the villagers. It had been about a half hour when Kiba and Hinata came walking up with a box of food. Akamaru was peering out from Kiba's jacket, looking tired.

" Hey." Naruto said as they sat down.

" Naruto, why the hell did you tell them the truth?" asked Kiba as he sat down.

" What?" Naruto said, stunned.

" I mean sure, it sucked how they were gonna treat me, but they all were treating you nice." Kiba said, opening the box of food and taking out a bowl of fish and rice. " You have to go though that stuff at home, so I'd have been okay dealing with it for a while."

" I didn't want you to." Naruto said somberly. " Any ramen?" he asked, hopefully. Hinata shook her head no. Naruto accepted the fish and rice reluctantly. " Thanks for bringing me something to eat."

" Not a problem." woofed Akamaru.

" Anyways, thanks Naruto." Kiba said between mouthfuls.

" If you can't stay in the village, I won't stay either, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, with a blush. " I-I brought a tent up."

" Really? Thanks, Hinata-chan! That's really nice of you." Naruto said, smiling widely. Hinata blushed and smiled at the compliment.

Kiba almost gagged.

" Those two ever going to stop that?" yipped Akamaru.

" I doubt." Kiba whispered back.

---

Asuma arrived shortly with the tent and sleeping bags.

" Naruto, I don't want any funny business out of you, you hear me?" Asuma said in a joking yet serious tone. Naruto nodded, wondering what Asuma meant. " I'm going to head out on my patrol. See you all in the morning."

" See ya. I'm heading back to the village." Kiba said, waving and running off with his loping gait.

Naruto made a team of clones to set the tent up. He couldn't convince them to do the work for him, though, so he and Hinata had to set it up. It was rather small but looked otherwise fine. They crawled in and unrolled the sleeping bags. Naruto fell asleep instantly. Hinata watched him, listening to his light snores as she felt sleep overtaking her.

Suddenly, her good eye snapped open.

She was sleeping by Naruto. She was alone with him.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Hinata let out a high pitched shrill as she dove for the tent entrance before she panicked.

---

Naruto woke. He sat up and yawned. He's been having a dream about being back at the ramen stand in Kohona with Hinata. And the ramen had been free. He smiled instantly at the thought. He looked over to where Hinata had been.

" Hinata?" Naruto asked. " Hinata!" He dove for the entrance of the tent. He opened it and found Hinata in her sleeping bag outside, still asleep.

_Man, Hinata is so weird._ he thought to himself.

---

Asuma and Kiba watched as the ANBU lead the prisoners away. They had spent about a half hour helping the ANBU prepare them for transport.

" We'll check to see if any have bounties on them when we get them secured." said a ANBU in a cat mask. Kiba had to hold Akamaru to make sure the dog didn't pounce the ninja.

" Well, your on patrol, Kiba." Asuma said, slapping the boy's back. " I'll take Akamaru back and get him some breakfast."

" See you, Akamaru." Kiba said sadly, rubbing the dogs head. Akamaru yipped as Kiba ran off.

" Hey, check on Hinata and Naruto too." Asuma called as the boy ran off.

---

The rest of the mission was a rather awkward affair.

Naruto stayed out of the village, as did Hinata. They built a nice little camp on the hilltop, and it luckily didn't rain. Kiba kept away from the villagers as much as he could, angry at how they had treated his teammates. Finally, no matter how hard she tried, Hinata couldn't bring herself to sleep in the tent, to Naruto's utter confusion.

Asuma noticed the villagers all seemed very tense at their presence. Finally, the morning their replacements arrive came. Hinata came into town and dropped off the tent as fast as she could, joining Naruto at the gate just outside of town. Asuma and Kiba arrived shortly after that. The crowd of villagers kept their distance from them, giving Naruto a lot of rude looks. Finally, the replacement team came into view.

" Good to see you." Asuma said, greeting the chunnin leading the squad. " I'll give you the area details real quick." he said, leading the ninja to the lodging.

The genin were left standing alone. The crowd dispersed, much to their relief. However, a man Naruto recognized as the tailor came over.

" Sorry it took so long, but the details I had to work from a picture. Give is back to Mr. Sarutobi for me." The tailor handed a photo of the three of them sparing to Kiba. " Here you go, Naruto." The man handed Naruto a box. Naruto opened it curiously. Inside he found a bright orange jacket, virtually identical to his old one.

" Whoa, thanks!" Naruto said, holding the jacket up.

" Its not a problem. The other villagers treated you quite badly, so it was the least I could do. Oh, and here's a little something for you." The man took a dog cookie out of his pocket and held it out for Akamaru. Akamaru happily snapped it up. The man smiled and walked off. Naruto tried his new jacket on, which fit very well. It was a little baggy, but he figured he'd grow into it.

" Ready to leave?" Asuma said, walking up. " I am."

" Sensei, here's your picture." Kiba said, handing the photo to Asuma. " Why'd you have a picture of us?"

" Well, pictures remember things better than people do. It's kind of a tradition to have a photo of your genin." Asuma said, putting the photo in his pocket and lighting a cigarette.

" When we get back, lets get one with you in it too." Naruto said. The genin nodded and Asuma sighed. He hated having his picture taken.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been a week from hell.

Since their return Asuma had simply been driving them into the ground with training. Sure, they all felt stronger already, but Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata were already tired of this new training routine. In the mornings Asuma would relentlessly drill their formwork to the point Naruto wanted to puke. The missions had to be completed quickly so they could still get lunch before heading off to do long runs and chakra-intensive sparring.

Naruto, true to form, whined.

" Come on, sensei, lets take a off already." said Naruto as he walked to the practice field. Hinata was busied in her jutsu scrolls as usual and Kiba was not yet there.

" Naruto, we can't. First, it's the day of group training…" Asuma began.

" Really? Yes!" Naruto interrupted, tossing his arms into the air. " We'll get to brag to everyone about our mission!"

" Not likely. Remember what Kakashi's team did?" Asuma said, lighting his cigarette.

" No. Did they do something?" said Naruto, apparently having not heard the story.

" Hinata, listen up." Asuma said before launching into the mission details. Kakashi's capture by Zabuza, Sasuke and Sakura saving him, Kakashi defeating the water ninja with his Sharingan, and Zabuza's apparent assassination.

" They really did all that?" said Naruto, obviously impressed. " That means Sasuke's getting a lot better."

" Yeah he is, which is why I upped the training. I don't what Kakashi's team of brains to catch up to my brawlers. And, I'm not done with the story." Asuma said as Kiba and Akamaru loped up.

" Sorry, we saw a …" Kiba began in his traditional excuse.

" Kiba, shut up." said Asuma, turning and leading his genin towards the group training grounds before launching into the rest of the story.

After resting and training Kakashi's team had met Zabuza again on the bridge, but this time he had help, a strange boy named Haku. While Zabuza and Kakashi fought, Haku had trapped Shino in some sort of cage made of ice and began to kill him with throwing needles. Sasuke and Sakura had tried to help, but Zabuza had stopped them. While he was being attacked, however, Shino had used his bugs to drain the cages chakra. It collapsed and Haku was caught off guard for a moment. Shino had launched every bug he had onto Haku and drained his chakra completely.

" Let me tell you, you never want them to do that to you." Asuma said, shuddering. " I saw it once in the field. Still have nightmares about it. Anyways, Kakashi then killed Zabuza. The end." Asuma seemed to caught in memory to properly finish.

" Why? I've used all my chakra before. It's not that bad." said Kiba, not intimidated by the bug users.

" Kiba, you cannot actually use all of your chakra." Hinata said, speaking for the first time that morning. " Your body holds back chakra to keep it alive. Without that reserve, you would die."

Kiba blinked as they arrived, looking to Shino nervously.

" Good that you are all here!" Guy proclaimed loudly as Sasuke looked at Naruto triumphantly, his boasting barely contained. " It is finally my turn to decide what we practice on!"

The assembled genin looked to the other jounin's accusingly. The jounin's looked guilty.

" I have decided that today, we will practice fighting without the aid of chakra, jutsu, or bloodlines." Guy proclaimed. Lee looked excited at the prospect, eyeing Neji.

" Aw, come on!" complained Naruto. " What's the point in that?"

" Naruto, taijutsu is the basis of a ninja's arsenal." Ten-Ten said, cracking her knuckles. " Eventually, you'll run out of chakra. Your screwed if that happens since that's all you have."

" No I'm not. I can hold my own in hand to hand." said Naruto confidently.

" Dibs on punching you, then." Ten-Ten said, smirking.

" Your on!" Naruto said, hackles raised.

The genin divided into pairs with the jounin patrolling and giving help.

" All right, here I come!" shouted Naruto, launching himself forward towards Ten-Ten roughly twenty feet. He was caught unceremoniously by Guy.

" Naruto, I said without using chakra." the green clad jounin said, putting him down.

" I didn't use any." Naruto protested.

" Yes, you did. It has become second nature to you, but you forced chakra into your legs for that jump. Without that chakra, you could not have made such a jump." Guy said slightly accusingly.

" Wait, we can't use any chakra at all?" said Naruto, gulping and looking to the smirking Ten-Ten. " Crap."

---

Roughly a half hour when they first broke, Naruto was a mess. Ten-Ten had beaten him unceremoniously and soundly. She'd blocked his every attack and he's been far too slow without using chakra to block hers.

" See, Naruto, this is why we did this. It's obvious your taijutsu needs work." said Kakashi, not looking up from his book.

" Neji and Hinata, you should double your efforts as well. You rely to heavily on your bloodlines." said Asuma. " You need to develop non-Hyuuga techniques." Neji looked offended at the suggestion while Hinata hung her head, looking ashamed.

" Everyone but Lee and Ten-Ten should. Sakura, your taijutsu is as bad as Naruto's, and everyone else is pretty much helpless with out their bloodlines." Kurenai said coldly.

" Hey, I have a idea." said Naruto, triumph flashing on his face. " I could make a lot of clones to fight everyone."

The collected ninja sweat dropped.

" No, no, I didn't mean it like that!" said Naruto, aggravated. " I mean because I get the clones memories. I could practice against everyone at once."

" That is a … brilliant suggestion." said Kakashi, looking intrigued. The assembled genin were shocked at Naruto's ingenuity.

" Are you sure he isn't a impostor?" whispered Sasuke to Kurenai. Kurenai nodded no.

" In fact, I think its time for everybody to learn shadow clones to try this out as well. It'll exhaust your chakra so you can't use it accidentally and give you access to a valuable technique." Kakashi said, standing up straight. He looked rather impressive.

Lee looked rather downhearted.

" Like you need to learn shadow clones, Lee." said Naruto, looking to the boy. " You can already kick all our asses at taijutsu." Lee looked rather surprised at the compliment, as it came from a person he was rather sure disliked him.

" Everyone but Lee, line up so I can show you the sign's." said Kurenai, brining the genin to her. " Kakashi, show Lee that move you copied from that Grass ninja."

" Fine. Come on, Lee. I'll teach you a high level taijutsu move." Kakashi said, leading the green clad individuals away. " Send a clone when we can come back."

" Break time!" said Naruto, laying down in the grass.

" No it is not." Guy appeared and towered over him. " I am going to help you with focusing chakra. You have massive reserves but use it wastefully. With my help, you will be as skilled as my apprentices!"

Naruto gulped, praying Guy didn't make him wear a green jumpsuit.

---

" All right, now that Naruto's gone, we can begin. Everyone, form the hand sign's and try the jutsu." said Kurenai, showing them the order of the seals. The genin all complied and formed the jutsu. Kurenai winced at the massive bursts of malformed chakra.

" Oh…go…." said Ino, wincing and falling to the ground. Choji also collapsed to his knees. Sasuke managed to force the pain back, but it was almost more than he could take.

" I didn't know a jutsu could be painful." said Shino, voice quavering.

" That's because of the chakra demand of the technique." Kurenai said, looking to the genin apologetically. " This isn't like other techniques, where your chakra drains away. This rips your chakra apart."

" So Naruto-kun has to go though that every time he makes a clone?" said Hinata as the pain dimmed away.

" Doubtfully." Kurenai said, looking thoughtful. The genin looked at her, confused. " This was like having a arm cut off, correct?" The genin nodded in agreement. " That's because of how much chakra it took. Think about Naruto's supply."

" It's more losing a single hair. You might not even notice." said Sakura, understanding.

" Maybe even less." Kurenai replied. " Now, I didn't give you much focus on purpose, so you could feel what its like to do it wrong. We're going to take this slowly, building up to the technique and doing it right."

The genin all nodded eagerly.

---

" This should work." said Guy, looking at a seemingly normal group of trees. " Naruto, I want you to run up this tree."

" What? How?" Naruto began loudly.

" By focusing your chakra to your feet like this." Guy said, walking up the side of the tree. Naruto's jaw dropped. Guy leapt off of the tree and landed gracefully. " Form a group of clones to help you learn this faster, as you suggested."

Naruto formed twenty clones, who each took a spot by a tree. " All right…focus my chakra to my feet." Naruto began, puzzling it out. In unison the clones leapt at the trees and tried to run up the sides. Before they got two steps, though, they fell to the ground heavily. They got up, grumbling.

" Oh, I should mention. Your rival, Sasuke, learned this technique in several days. It usually takes a month." Guy called out, trying to reach the boys ego. The clones all looked shocked at each other.

" Come on! We'll do it in a day!" cried a clone. " Yeah!" shouted the others in unison. " No more messing around! Make more clones!"

Guy smiled to himself as an army of Naruto's began to unsuccessfully scale the trees.

---

" You already got it?" asked Kakashi, surprised. Lee had mastered the third taijutsu combination he had shown him already.

" I have, Kakashi-sensei." said Lee, smiling widely. Kakashi had heard of the boys excellent taijutsu skills, but he had always believed that was only due to Guy's constant tutoring. It seemed, however, that the boy was a genius of taijutsu as well as hard work.

" Then I suppose I will have to show you something harder." Kakashi said, activating his Sharingan and preparing to teach the boy some of the best combinations he had copied.

---

" This jutsu is just too troublesome." moaned Shikamaru as he formed the shadow clone incorrectly. " I don't think I'll ever use it in battle even if I get it perfect."

" I agree." said Ten-Ten, wincing as she struggled to stand. Her chakra reserves were nearly gone.

" Kurenai-sensei, I believe I have done it!" proclaimed Hinata tiredly. Kurenai walked over and inspected the single clone.

" Good job, Hinata. You can take a break now." Kurenai said with a smile to the girl.

Hinata walked over and joined Sasuke, Sakura, and Neji, who were resting a short distance away in the shade. They had finished before her. She activated her Byakugan and looked at the other genin. They all, even her genius cousin, had almost no useable chakra left.

" I knew it would be hard to match Naruto with shadow clones, but I thought it would be at least possible." Sakura said somberly.

" Hey, don't feel bad. Most people don't learn shadow clones until they become jounins." Asuma called lazily from where he was sitting.

" What? Then why did you have us learn?" yelled a annoyed Sakura.

" Because all of you, even Kiba, are exceptional genin." Asuma replied. Everyone but Kiba felt reassured by the complement.

" I got it!" barked Akamaru. By him stood another small dog, wagging its tail.

" Good dog, Akamaru!" said Kiba, petting the clone. The clone disappeared when he touched it, however. " Oh." said Kiba, petting the real one. Akamaru ran off to the shade and lay down, panting.

" Hinata-sama, I have a question." said Neji in a surprisingly polite tone. Hinata looked to her cousin. " How many clones is Naruto capable of creating?"

" I don't know." said Hinata, thinking back. Naruto had been improving, so his limit had likely increased.

" At least several hundred."

" Hn." Sasuke said, nodding. " He'll be a threat if he ever gets any skill."

" I agree." Neji said, looking at the other genius. " He will most definitely be a problem in the chunnin exams."

" Chunnin exams?" asked Sakura, sounding interested.

" The exam that you must complete before being promoted. It's in two months." said Neji, returning to his cold voice. " Guy plans on letting us enter, and I expect the other jounin's will enter your teams as well."

" There's no way we can let Naruto beat us." said Sasuke, determinedly. " I won't lose to the dead last."

Hinata was getting worried by this conversation.

" Hey, I'm back!" shouted Naruto, running over with a triumphant looking Guy. " Hey Sasuke, how long did it take you to learn the chakra focusing technique?"

" Less than a week." Sasuke said gloatingly.

" That long? It took me a hour." said Naruto, smiling proudly. Sasuke glowered at him. " With all those clones it didn't take long. It's going to be easy to learn things now!"

" Congratulations, Naruto-kun." congratulated Hinata.

" Thanks, Hinata-chan." Naruto said, sitting by her. Sakura felt jealous of Hinata for getting Naruto so quickly.

---

" All right, how'd it go?" said Kakashi, walking up with a beaming Lee. The genin struggled to their feet, feeling completely drained.

" Okay. They'll need to keep practicing. But, they won't be able to use chakra during the rest of the training today." said Kurenai, looking the genin over.

" Oh, come on! We can't practice like this!" whined Kiba.

" Shut up, Kiba." said Kurenai, silencing the boy. " Yon can and you will." Kiba gulped as the forceful woman glowered at him. " Naruto, form the clones. Everyone ready themselves."

" I will practice with Lee." said Guy, walking towards his favorite apprentice. " I wish to see what techniques my rival taught him." Lee smiled as he and his teacher fell into combat stances and began to trade attacks.

" All right!" Naruto said, smiling confidently. He performed the shadow clone, inspiring jealousy from the genin at the ease he did it with. A platoon of Naruto clones faced them. The genin all forced themselves forward, hoping to take their aggression out on the clones.

---

Five hours later, even Naruto looked tired.

" Again." said Kurenai, taking a combat stance. Even the jounin's had joined in.

" Come on." said Shikamaru, struggling to stand. " We've had enough."

" I agree." said Sasuke, nursing a bruise on his cheek. " We've learned all we can against the clones."

" Aw, quit being such babies." called Naruto.

" Naruto, shut up!" said Kiba irately. " If you had to fight this long, you'd be tired too. ."

" Yeah. Don't feel too proud since you don't really have to fight." said Ten-Ten, also annoyed. The other genin, even Hinata, nodded, expressing similar feelings.

" Well fine!" Naruto said defiantly. " I won't use any clones. So, who do I fight first?"

" Naruto, you've gotten better from all the practice this afternoon, but I don't think…" began Asuma.

" I will fight you." said Neji, walking forward. Despite his exhaustion, he carried himself well.

Without a pause for the jounin to protest, Naruto and Neji launched themselves at each other. Neji connected a punch to Naruto's face, knocking the smaller genin head over heel's. Naruto sprang back up only to be knocked over by sweep kick.

" Both of you, stop!" shouted Kurenai commandingly. The genin froze. " That will be enough of that."

" I can take him!" complained Naruto, brushing himself off. Neji laughed.

" No, Naruto, you can't. A loser like you, without the gift he was given by the Fourth, would be nothing."

" You shut up!" Naruto yelled angrily. Kakashi leapt over and restrained him from attacking. " In a fight you know I would win!"

" No, Naruto, even with your clones, you would lose. I can see the real you with my Byakugan and attack you. With my Jyuuken your clones not even have a chance against me." Neji said cruelly, turning and walking away. Everyone fell silent. " Despite the annoyance you can present, you will never be a challenge."

" Neji, you shouldn't say such things about Naruto-kun!" shouted Hinata, leaping in front of her cousin.

" Why? Unlike anyone else here, I respect him." Neji said. Hinata looked at him, confused. " He's the only one here who was marked from birth." he said, taking his forehead protector off and revealing the Caged Bird seal. " He is the only one who had to suffer for reasons he had no control over. But he was not held back."

Neji glanced back to Naruto. " You never put any effort into things, despite your natural intelligence and talent. You wasted your genius. I see you as a failed version of me, Naruto. One who never realized his potential."

Neji began to turn, but Naruto cut him off.

" What's that seal on your head?" Naruto asked.

" It is the mark of the branch family of the Hyuuga. It gives the main branch the ability to control us." Neji replied coldly.

" Can it be removed?" asked Naruto.

" Only by the main family." said Neji.

" Hinata-chan, could you remove it then?" Naruto asked. Neji gaped in surprise.

" Naruto-kun, it is the family tradition. I must not remove the seal." said Hinata.

Everyone felt Naruto's anger rise.

" That's stupid, Hinata!" Naruto shouted.

" Naruto-kun…" Hinata began, but Naruto cut her off.

" Why the hell does the main family need to mark and control the branch family anyways?" Naruto said, struggling away from Kakashi.

" Naruto-kun, I can't…" said Hinata, beginning become afraid.

" Don't give me that bullshit! No one has a right to mark someone else!" Naruto shouted. Everyone stepped away. His eyes had gone red with slit like pupils. He suddenly stopped and closed his eyes, like he was forcing something back. " Sorry. Sorry." he said, opening his eyes, which had gone back to normal.

Neji stepped back as Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked to him. Hinata began searching through the embedded chakra. Neji could feel a tingling feeling as her gaze passed though the seal and winced, preparing for the pain. It came, but was not nearly as painful as he expected. He felt something dripping down his nose and opened his eyes while wiping the liquid off. He looked to his hand and saw a green ink smudged on them. He pulled a polished kunai out and looked at his forehead. The seal was gone, the tattoo ink forced from his skin. He wiped the rest off.

" I-it's r-removed." said Hinata shaking.

" Thanks, Hinata." Naruto coldly. Hinata looked to Naruto, fighting back tears. He still looked angry, but there was a hint of forgiveness in his gaze. " Now you can't whine about that anymore, Neji. I don't want you to ever compare yourself to me again. There's only one person that I know of that knew the loneliness I did, and you aren't him."

" Hinata-sama…" Neji said, stunned.

" I'll remove the rest of the clans seals and destroy the scroll for creating them." Hinata said, sounding guilty.

" That's a good idea, Hinata-chan!" said Naruto, walking over. He had returned to his normal, cheery self instantly. Hinata looked to him with hope on her face. " Sorry. I yelled. I just…the whole seal thing was kinda touchy."

" Yeah. That was as bad as calling Choji fat." said Ino, not thinking.

---

" Ow." said Naruto, nursing his jaw where Choji had hit it after going berserk. " It's kinda hard to eat ramen like this."

" Shut up, dead last." said Sasuke, taking a seat at the ramen stand by him.

" What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto asked, annoyed.

" Getting dinner." said Sasuke. He turned to Ayame. " I'll have a pork ramen."

" Oh." Naruto said before burying himself back his noodles.

" So, dead last, you up for a real fight tomorrow?" Sasuke said, smirking. " See how we do against each other with out jutsu?"

" Your on!" Naruto replied, accepting the challenge from his rival.

---

When the clan had assembled in the meeting chambers, there was general confusion. The reclusive heir only spoke to them occasionally, and they had not expected her to call a clan meeting. Then, her cousin Neji walked in front of the clan, taking a seat by her. They gasped as he removed his forehead protector and revealed the blank forehead.

" What is the meaning of this?" asked one of the elders irately. He quailed as Hinata focused on him with her Byakugan. She broke his seal. He took off his forehead protector as well, wiping the ink away in amazement.

" On the suggestion of Uzamaki Naruto, I have decided that the Caged Bird seal will no longer be used by our clan. I have destroyed the scroll for creating them and I will remove them from you now. Neji, please help me." Neji nodded at Hinata's request, having been instructed by Hinata in how to remove the seals. They began to remove the seals from the startled Hyuuga.

Hinata smiled to herself, thinking about how Naruto had seemed proud of her when she had promised to destroy the seal forever. He had apologized profusely about yelling at her, even when she had told him to stop. She felt a little bad that Naruto had been so guilty about that, but in the back of her head she was glad he was so worried about upsetting her.

_You really have him._ thought a evil little voice in her mind, making her giggle.

---

Naruto couldn't calm his excitement the next day at practice, which was the usual affair. The moment it was over he raced off, waving his goodbyes and heading to the combat ground by the lake Sasuke had decided they'd meet at. He was looking forward to finally putting that Uchiha into place. He arrived and looked around. The area was a small grassy beach by the lakeside with a few trees and bushes.

" Good to see you came, dead last." said Sasuke, dropping down from a tree. " I thought you'd chicken out."

" No way!" shouted Naruto defiantly. " There's no way I'd miss this opportunity to kick your ass!"

" Then lets start." Sasuke said, lowering into a ready position. " Hey, one thing. If I win, you have to tell me who that person you respect is." Sasuke said, picking a topic for the bet that would make Naruto nervous. He was not disappointed with how Naruto squirmed at the though.

" Uh…okay…and if I win, you have to dye your hair pink!" Naruto said, launching back his own psychological attack. Sasuke's eye twitched. Now he couldn't let himself lose for anything.

Naruto opened by creating a dozen clones which charged Sasuke head on. Sasuke smirked as he activated his Sharingan. With ease he dodged and blocked the clones attacks, scattering and destroying them.

" Come on, Naruto what was that?" Sasuke taunted.

" Reconnaissance." said Naruto, flashing a vicious smiled.

The two young ninja flew at each other at top speed. Naruto formed another team of clones which tried to slam into Sasuke at top speed, but the boy dodged away and delivered a kick to the real Naruto, sending him tumbling into the water. The clones turned and leapt for him, but he defeated them with the same ease as before. He looked where Naruto lay in the shallows. This had been far easier than he had thought. He launched himself in a flying kick. Naruto didn't even have time to dodge, with Sasuke landing a bone crushing hit to his chest.

To Sasuke's surprise, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

" Shit." said Sasuke, looking around. _When did he escape? _

Before be could react a squad of clones leapt from underwater and grabbed him, dragging him down. He was caught off guard and got a mouthful of water. He struggled against the clones for a moment before breaking free, leaping out of the water onto the beach. He coughed up water for a moment before forcing himself to his feet and getting back on guard.

In unison, twenty clones launched themselves out of the water like rockets. Even with his Sharingan he could barely dodge their attacks, and one connected, knocking him along the beach. He tumbled to his feet as the clones surrounded him. They charged in unison, hoping to outflank him. Sasuke leapt into the air and launched a giant fireball into the clones, frying them all instantly.

" Ow!" said Naruto, wading out of the water. " That hurt!" As Sasuke landed another team of clones raced at him. Sasuke began to get bogged down by wave after wave of clones. He realized that Naruto was trying to wear him down like he had in training the day before. He had to end this and fast.

" Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique!" he shouted as he forced the signs together before firing the continuous volley of fireballs into the oncoming wave of clones. They were blasted apart by the rapid fire attack and the real Naruto barely had the chance to dodge away. Sasuke continued to fire towards Naruto, not giving him the chance to form more clones. When Naruto stumbled he stopped the jutsu and raced forward towards the recovering Naruto. Naruto barely had stood up when Sasuke delivered a punch to his gut, lifting him off his feet.

" Got you." Sasuke said triumphantly as the blonde genin tumbled to the ground. Sasuke drew a kunai and raced to Naruto, pinning him down with one hand and holding the kunai to his throat, signaling defeat.

" Dammit! Let me go!" Naruto said, struggling.

" It's too late, Naruto. I win." Sasuke said, releasing Naruto and standing up. He put the kunai away and stood in his cool pose. " Looks like you lose the bet." He'd decided to use the bet to make Naruto nervous, not really wanting the answer, but he was going to take this victory.

" Yeah." said Naruto, standing up and brushing himself off. " It's you."

" What?" asked Sasuke, not understanding.

" You're the only other person I know of who had to grow up with no family." Naruto said painfully. " When Neji was whining today, I couldn't take him really serious. At least he had family. Everyone else in your clan was dead. You were like me, completely alone. Maybe even worse, since you had family at one point."

Sasuke blinked. The Naruto he knew had never been this deep a thinker, at least he had thought that.

" I mean, even if your gay, you're a friend of mine." Naruto said, turning and looking at the setting sun.

" WHAT?" shouted Sasuke, his eye twitching.

" Naw, really, I'm fine with that. Just don't hit on me. Hinata-chan would be jealous." Naruto said jokingly. However, he found Sasuke's hands around his throat a second later.

" Naruto…why the hell…do you think…I'm…" Sasuke stuttered in his rage. If anyone else had heard that…

" You never went out with Sakura, so I guessed." Naruto said, straining to breath. Sasuke let him go, eye twitching heavily.

" I…think I will…go ask Sakura on a date." Sasuke said, turning and storming away. He had to save his reputation, even if it mean putting up with Sakura.

Naruto watched Sasuke storm away in confusion.

---

When Kiba came running up the next day at practice, he didn't give his usual cat-related excuse.

" Hey, did you guys here? Sasuke's going out with Sakura!" Kiba said as he came to a halt. " I always thought he was…you know…"

" You did too?" Naruto said, pleased he wasn't alone in the assumption.

" Thank god. The Hokage was rather worried about that." said Asuma, taking a drag of his cigarette. " I guess we will have more Uchiha after all."

" What are you talking about?" asked a bewildered Hinata. The boy's blushed in unison.

" Nothing, nothing, Hinata-chan." said Naruto, smiling nervously and waving her off. Kiba and Asuma looked unwilling to discuss it as well. She sighed and let the subject go.

--

Three more days of heavy training went by. However, when Kiba and Akamaru arrived one day, Asuma spoke up.

" We're not training today." he said.

" All right!" shouted the boys in unison. Hinata was glad of the respite as well.

" We have a mission we need to head to the Hokage's tower to discuss. The other teams have been assigned to this one as well." Asuma said, turning and leading the way.

" What is it, Asuma-sensei?" asked a excited Naruto.

" Not sure, but with four teams it won't be a D-Rank, I guarantee that." Asuma said. The genin's spirits soared hopefully.

They arrived at the tower and headed to the meeting room, where Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and their teams met them. Naruto noticed Sasuke had allowed Sakura to stand much closer to him than normal.

" Now that everyone is here, I can begin." said the Third, walking into the room. " Near the border of the Rain country is a small village called Omasu. Recently, a group of thugs fleeing the civil war in the Rain country has taken over the village. Mostly they are low level combatants, but their leader is a chunnin ranked individual named Shiro who is leading the group. I felt this mission would be a good change for you to practice infiltration and neutralization of a enemy. Usually this mission is ranked above you, but my faith in your four jounin's to keep you safe and the fact I am sending four teams on the mission lets me fudge the rules." The Hokage sat down at his desk, giving Hinata a approving glance obviously related to destruction of the seals.

" Sound's like a piece of cake. The genin will take the thugs while we take Shiro." Asuma said, stretching his arms behind his head.

" There is one complication. I don't want you to violate the Rain countries border if they flee back over it. The area is as unstable as usual and they might see it as an attack." said the Third. " I really hate dealing with that country." they heard him mumble under his breath. " Here is the mission files. I want you all to head out at once."

" Yes, Hokage!" the assembled teams said, snapping to attention. The Hokage smirked. _That never gets old._

---

" All right, we are going to treat this mission with utmost care." Kurenai said as the teams assembled outside. " I want everyone to go and ready their packs. Make sure you have everything prepared correctly. We won't be stopping for extra food if you forget. We also are going to travel lightly, so don't weigh yourself down in extra weapons." she added, glancing to Asuma.

" I'll have the weapons in my scrolls if anyone needs replacements." offered Ten-Ten.

" Good thinking. Everyone, dismissed!" Kurenai said. She suddenly found herself alone, the other jounin reacting to the order as well.

A hour later, after several inspections and changes to their equipment, they were fully assembled by the gate.

" I only have enough cigarette's for two days!" whined Asuma.

" Going without them will be good for you." said Kakashi, messing with the four books he had stuffed into his vest. Asuma resisted the opportunity to say something about the jounin's reading habits.

" We'll be there by this evening if we move at full speed." said Guy, standing boldly. " Let's go!" the large jounin strode forward a short distance before taking off at a run. Everyone followed a second later, caught up in Guy's eagerness.

---

About a hour after sunset they found the village. They took cover in the trees a safe distance, observing the small village.

" We'll come back after we drop off our supplies and make our plans." said Kakashi, looking over the village with his visible eye. Hinata got the feeling that he was seeing far more with his normal eye then she could with her Byakugan. The other jounin nodded in agreement and led them off into the forest.

They made camp and deposited their gear in a small clearing in a dense part of the forest. They set up several small camouflaged tents to hide their supplies.

" So, what's the plan?" asked Naruto as they assembled. Kakashi had cleared a patch of dirt and outlined the village on it.

" For now, we gather information so we can form a plan. Just racing in would be bad because we don't know how many enemies there are or where they can be found. If we attacked without knowing, the villagers might be harmed. When we strike, we have to strike perfectly and quickly." said Kakashi, looking at Naruto lazily.

" First, I will take Neji, Hinata, and Shino to observe. With their Byakugan, Neji and Hinata can spy from cover. I'll stay by Hinata and guard her, just in case." Kakashi explained, looking to the girl. " She is our only medic, so we can't afford to lose her. Shino, I want you to send your bugs in to scout out and mark everyone in the village." Shino nodded at the plan. " You will be able to find and identify anyone instantly and the Hyuuga will help us get a feel for where everyone is. Meanwhile, you will all stay a short distance away, ready to help if we are detected."

" And what then?" asked Kiba.

" After I have decided we know their defenses adequately, we will meet up with everyone who isn't with the scouting party and make out attack plan. We should strike while it's night since we will be able to move more safely." finished Kakashi before he could be cut off again. " It is necessary that you stay back and stay hidden until we return. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded.

" Then head out." Kakashi said, turning towards the village.


	11. Chapter 11

" You know, we kinda suck." Akamaru yipped quietly. They had been waiting a half hour for the scout team to return.

" What?" asked Kiba.

" Everyone else is getting way better than us. Naruto's starting to take himself seriously, Hinata's doing that medical stuff, and even Sakura is becoming useful." Akamaru woofed, stretching. " We're falling behind."

" No were not!" Kiba said, getting a reproachful look from Ino for being to loud.

" All we have is the Beast Clone and Piercing Fang. We're okay if we're fighting together, but without each other, we're the weakest of the genin." Akamaru explained.

" Yeah." sighed Kiba. " Asuma-sensei keeps hinting that we should develop some skills that don't depend on each other."

" We should probably do that when we get back." Akamaru woofed, glad Kiba was agreeing with him.

" Yo." said Kakashi, creeping into view with the scout team. The others moved quietly over and met with them. " We were successful."

" Yosh!" said Lee excitedly. Ten-Ten clamped a hand over the excitable boy's mouth.

" The villagers are all asleep, as are most of our targets. There's only eight of them other than the leader, and only he is awake. We can take them easily. We want as many prisoners as possible, so try to knock them unconscious if possible. Their all in building in the center of town. I'll take Shiro out while you all secure the others."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

---

Kiba crept along the rooftop of the villages central building. He, Akamaru, Ten-Ten, and Kurenai were taking the two thugs on the top floor out. Ten-Ten came to a window and peered through. She gave them the sign to continue and crept though.

Inside they found the thugs, one asleep on a beg and the other asleep in a chair. Ten-Ten crept to the one in the chair, positioning herself behind with a needle she had drawn. She clamped a hand over the mans mouth and jabbed him with the needle. He startled for a moment, then fell unconscious from the poison. Kurenai went to the man on the bed and performed a jutsu.

" I trapped him in a powerful genjutsu. He won't wake up." she whispered to the genin. " We wait for Kakashi's signal now."

" I never though about taking a someone out silently." whispered Kiba to Akamaru. The small dog nodded. They had only ever though about punch's and kicks.

From below they heard a muffled thump.

" That was Kakashi." Kurenai said, hefting the genjutsu-trapped man over her shoulder. " We're done. Grab him and follow me."

" I'll get him." said Kiba, trying to be useful. Ten-Ten, however, was already carrying the man downstairs. Kiba and Akamaru stood still for a moment, feeling totally emasculated.

Downstairs they met with the others, who had the other defeated thugs tied up in the entry hall. Kakashi came in, bearing the unconscious body of what Kiba guessed was Shiro.

" I stunned him with a low power Chidori." Kakashi said, setting the man on the floor. " Was there any trouble for anyone else?" Everyone nodded no. " Good. Shino, anyone we missed?"

" My bugs have accounted for all threats." stated Shino. " We can inform the villagers if we wish."

" Naruto, Lee, Guy, that sounds like a job for you." Kakashi said. The three noisy ninja saluted and ran from the building. Kakashi's eye rolled.

---

" How can we ever thank you enough?" said one of the other village elders. They had been startled when they had been awoken, but now that they were safe they had begun to celebrate, despite the early hour.

" It's not a problem." said Asuma. " It'd be bad for the Leaf if we just let on of out villages get taken over."

" Well, thank you anyways." said the man, bowing deeply.

Everyone else had joined in the celebrating, except Kurenai, who was keeping watch of the prisoners, and Kiba, who was sitting aside gloomily.

" Everything alright?" asked Kakashi as he walked past.

" Yeah." said Kiba unconvincingly.

" The mission was a success. Something else must be bothering you." said Kakashi, pressing the matter. It was Asuma's job to watch the boy, but as far as he could tell Asuma had regulated Kiba to the role of the groups comic relief. After doing that to Obito, he wasn't going to let that happen to anyone else.

" Sure, we won, but I didn't do a thing." whined Kiba as Kakashi took a seat.

" Neither did Choji, Naruto, or Guy." Kakashi replied.

" Yeah, but they could have. I didn't even think about knocking them out quietly until afterwards. I'd never though about it." Kiba said as he scratched Akamaru's ear. " Me and Akamaru are thinking that we're falling behind everyone else."

" Well, you are." said Kakashi unsympathetically. Kiba and Akamaru annoyed. " I've seen it happen to a lot of Inuzuka. The gap between the time you can learn the Piercing Fang and the Double Headed Wolf, your clan's next technique, it pretty dramatic. Since I don't think you've had the time to completely master the Piercing Fang, it's probably not a good idea to move on yet."

" Akamaru was thinking that we should also develop some techniques that don't require each other, jus to be safe." countered Kiba.

" A good idea." said Kakashi, standing up. " Tell me how that goes."

" Hey, wait!" Kiba said, exasperatedly. " That's it?"

" Well, yeah. What did you expect?" Kakashi said, voice laden with boredom.

" It sounded like you were gonna help us or something!" Akamaru barked.

" I never said I would." Kakashi replied. Kiba and Akamaru blinked.

" Wait, you can understand him?" Kiba asked.

" Of course." Kakashi said. " I spent a while training ninja dogs. It's not that hard to learn."

" What did you train them to do?" Akamaru asked.

" Fight. I thought you were the smart one, Akamaru." Kakashi said, smirking behind his mask.

" Hey, could you train Akamaru to fight better?" Kiba asked hopefully.

" No. I have my own students. But, I'll send over someone who can." Kakashi said. " Unfortunately, Kiba, your not a ninja dog, so you'll have to practice something else."

" Like what?" Kiba asked excitedly.

" Oh, I don't know. Something that no one else in our teams does would be a good idea. Summoning or Seal jutsu, maybe. That's come up a bit. Their hard techniques, but worth it." Kakashi replied.

" All right! I'll do that when we get back." Kiba said excitedly before turning to his dog. " See? This is gonna work out great!"

_I'm going to owe Pakkun a lot of favors._ thought Kakashi as he left.

---

Leading the prisoners back to Kohona took two days, which were tortuous to the eager Inuzuka. When they had arrived back and given ANBU the prisoners, the teams went to see the Hokage to give their report.

" Good job." said the Hokage after they had finished. " A flawless mission."

" Sweet. Can we go?" asked Kiba, edging towards the door.

" Oh, sure, but since I have your pay slips for the last few missions, it would be foolish to do so." said the Hokage, taking out a number of envelopes. Everyone took them excitedly. Kiba opened it and found the money for the last two missions. There was nearly seven hundred Ryou, making Kiba and Akamaru's heads race with the possibilities.

" All right, ramen time!" Naruto proclaimed, racing from the room. He, obviously, had simpler plans. Hinata said goodbye and followed him. Everyone else suffled from the room.

" Hey, Kakashi, you'll send that person over tomorrow?" asked Akamaru. The jounin nodded. " All right!"

Kiba walked over to the Hokage.

" Excuse me, Hokage, sir?" he asked. The Hokage looked up from the file he was inspecting.

" Yes?" the Hokage asked.

" I was thinking about learning Seal and Summon jutsu, but I don't know how to find out about that. Where would I…?"

" A rather ambitious project for someone your age, but a admirable one." the Third said, smiling at him. Kiba fidgeted nervously. " I know of a store here in town that sells scrolls describing various Seal techniques and some basic summoning scrolls." The Third wrote an address down on a scrap of paper. " It won't be cheap, but luckily it's payday."

Kiba, his hopes for the money evaporating.

---

Akamaru had headed home with his half of their pay. Kiba had wandered though the crowded back streets of Kohona, trying to find the shop. It was a small looking, old building in a back alley. He didn't like the look of it, but he headed in anyways.

The inside was cluttered with floor to wall scroll cases, boxes of paper, brushes, and ink. The place stank of ancient paper and Kiba almost had to hold his nose.

" Can I help you?" asked an ancient looking woman, coming out from behind a stack of scrolls.

" Uh, hi." Kiba began lamely. " I was told I could buy scrolls here by the Third."

" Oh, goody. It's been a while since he sent anyone by me. Those three, the Sannin, were the last customers he sent. Imagine, his own mothers shop and he sends barely anyone here!" the old woman began with a cackle.

_His mother_? Thought an astounded Kiba. _Isn't the Third like a million years old_?

" Now, you'll probably want some basic things to start with. I have a scroll here that shows you how to create summoning scrolls for small animals and insects. They can't fight for you, but they make nice scouts." The woman handed him a large, heavy scroll. " You'll need ink, brushes, and twenty or so blank scrolls." The woman began to pile the supplies on him. " Just focus on the summons for now. It'll give you practice for seals." The old woman then pushed the struggling Kiba towards the door.

" How much does this all cost?" Kiba asked, quite concerned.

" Oh, everything you had." the old woman said, showing him the ryou which had been in his pocket before. Before he could protest she shoved him outside and shut the door. " Come back when you need to move on!"

Kiba mumbled obscenities under his breath as he headed for home.

---

Kiba arrived during dinner. He walked past the door to the dining hall as he headed for his room to drop off his newly purchased supplies. However, he was spotted by Tsume.

" Kiba, what's all that?" she called out. " Wallpapering your room?"

" Naw. It's all this stuff the lady at the scroll shop sold me." Kiba said, struggling under the weight.

" Scroll shop?" his mother asked.

" Yeah. I'm going to try learning some summoning jutsu." Kiba said earnestly.

" Did you hear that?" said his mother, laughing. " Kiba's going to learn summon techniques."

To Kiba's annoyance and confusion, the entire clan joined in laughing at him.

" What?" he asked. " What's so funny?"

" Kiba, you just wasted a lot of money. There's no way you can pull that stuff off." said his mother, wiping her watering eyes. " You should take it back for a refund."

Kiba was tempted to swear at his mother, but he resisted the urge and stormed up to his room. He shut the door and plopped the scrolls down on his bed. He swept the odd's and ends from his rarely used desk chair, plopping down angrily. He put the summoning scroll on it, unrolled it, and began to, for the first time in years, read.

---

" Aw shit." said Kiba, five minutes later. " They didn't say it was going to be this hard."

He'd ran though the entire scroll quickly, skimming it. It detailed the creation of weak summoning scrolls, suitable for small animals. Apparently, the more powerful the scroll the stronger the creature that could be summoned. There was a number of strangely named symbols and patterns that he had to work together to create the scrolls, and if you didn't match it correctly to the animal you wanted to summon it wouldn't work. To finish it off, you had to make a contract with the summoned creature using your own blood.

_If I stay up all night, I might be able to…summon a moth._ he thought, looking at the simplest seals. Sighing, he got to work.

---

Asuma couldn't believe his eyes.

He had showed up ten minutes before practice. Hinata was there, buried in a medical jutsu scroll, but sitting besides her was Kiba, making marks on a scroll, and Akamaru, who was wagging his tail happily.

This was going to be a odd day, he just knew it.

---

_Another sqiggle…a mirror of it on the other side…a broken circle thing…with two dots…_Kiba talked himself though the process as he brushed the ink onto the parchment.

" Hey Kiba." said Asuma as he walked up. He looked rather surprised.

" Hey, sensei. " Kiba replied, not looking up. He had almost finished, and since it had taken him four hours, he didn't want to screw up right at the end. " There!" he said triumphantly, making the final stroke.

" What is that?" Hinata asked curiously.

" It's a summoning scroll." Kiba said, smiling widely.

" Woah, woah, kid, you can't just draw a bunch of lines on a scroll and say it's a summoning scroll. There are certain shapes…." Asuma began before Kiba cut him off.

" Sensei, I stayed up all night reading some huge, boring scroll on this stuff and making this." Kiba said. Asuma looked at him skeptically. " Well, one way to find out."

Kiba bit down on his thumb, causing Hinata to gasp. " All right, here it goes!" he proclaimed, making the hand sign's. He pressed his still bleeding thumb to the center of the scroll. As he did so there was a small puff of smoke, and a moth about the size of a coin appeared.

" All right, it worked!" cheered Kiba. Hinata and Akamaru looked disappointed.

" Kid, that's pretty good." said Asuma, slapping his shoulder.

" Hey, moth, go land on Hinata's nose." Kiba commanded with a laugh. Akamaru and Hinata were stunned when it landed on Hinata's nose, causing her to sneeze. The moth flew away slowly. " Thanks. That's all I needed." The moth flew a shot flourish, then vanished.

" So, what's the use of that?" woofed Akamaru.

" Now, nothing except making Hinata sneeze whenever I want.." said Kiba teasingly. " But if I get better, I can summon bigger creatures to fight for me or something."

" That is very impressive." said Hinata genuinely. Kiba smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

" Hey, I'll be right back." said Asuma, walking away. " I need to buy more cigarettes."

When Asuma had gone, Kiba spoke up.

" Hey Hinata, just a question. What do you and Naruto do when you hang out?" he asked. Hinata blushed.

" We…go for ramen…and…" Hinata began dreamily.

" You do what Naruto wants to, right?" Kiba said flatly. Hinata nodded. " Just a thing, when he yelled at you about Neji's seal and all that stuff, you kinda just bowed to his wishes. It was a good thing, but you can't always just do what Naruto wants or he gets bored. My dad always said that a woman who knows what she wants is better, I think."

" Why are you telling me this?" asked Hinata, looking at him strangely.

" Well, when Naruto got angry with you, I got worried. I'm not your boyfriend like he is, but I'm your friend." Kiba said nervously. " I don't want to see something happen to you. It's the pack instinct thing the Inuzuka all have. I was going to talk to Naruto about yelling at you too." Kiba said, sitting up.

" My mom always yells at me about being polite to girls."

Hinata nodded politely.

" When the hell did you get so thoughtful?" yipped Akamaru.

" I donno." replied Kiba. " It just seemed like the thing to say."

" But if they broke up, you'd have a shot at Hinata!" yipped Akamaru.

" Aw, crap, I didn't think of that!" said Kiba, slapping his face. He looked to Hinata who was staring at him a smiled nervously.

Shortly afterwards Naruto and Asuma arrived and practice began. Kiba was tired from his lack of sleep and not very focused, which meant Asuma had to correct his form a lot. About a hour after they began a small dog came running up.

" Yo." it said in a Kakashi-like fashion. " I'm here to work with somedog named Akamaru?" he asked.

" That's me!" Akamaru barked, hopping to his feet and running over, tail wagging.

" Hi kid. The names Pakkun." said the dog, introducing himself.

Kiba did a double take and, consequently, received a Jyuuken strike he would otherwise have dodged.

" No way!" said Kiba, wincing as he felt the numbness. Naruto and Hinata came to a halt, confused.

" You get to train with Pakkun?"

" Lucky!" yipped Akamaru.

" Who's Pakkun?" asked Naruto.

" Only like the best ninja dog in the world." said Kiba. " He worked with the White Fang. He's one of the greatest trackers ever and knows more ninja dog techniques than even the Inuzuka."

" That's great!" said Hinata.

" Come on, pup. Let's get to work." said the small dog, lazily walking away. Akamaru looked back briefly before following.

---

By the end of the training Kiba was a wreck. He was tired, cranky, and sore from the hits he had taken. Akamaru came back, looking tired but excited.

" Good job Hinata and Naruto. Kiba, go get some sleep." said Asuma, dismissing them. " It's good your working more seriously, but missing sleeps not a good idea."

" Yeah." said Kiba with a yawn. " See ya."

He had gotten nearly twenty feet when Hinata stopped him.

" Kiba…do you really think I should do what you said?" Hinata asked in a whisper. Kiba checked and Naruto was out of earshot.

" I think so. My dad said that and he's been married a long time." Kiba whispered back.

Hinata nodded, then walked over to Naruto.

" Hey, Hinata-chan, want to get some ramen?" the boy suggested.

" Naruto-kun…could we go somewhere else?"

His back turned to them, Kiba smiled, congratulating Hinata.

---

" Mom! Mom! You'll never guess what happened!" Akamaru said, bounding through the dog door into the Inuzuka manor. Kiba didn't bother with the small door, simply opening the human sized one and slumping though tiredly.

" What?" asked Akamaru's mother while chewing on a tennis ball.

" This Kakashi guy who's one of the jounin, he sent a dog by to help me learn some techniques that don't rely on Kiba. I'm getting lessons from Pakkun!"

" Really?" said one of the dogs, perking up.

" Hey, you could make something of yourself yet! Make sure the boy keeps up." jeered Kiba's father. Kiba looked at him sourly before heading for his room and collapsing on his bed.

He woke very early the next morning. The sun wasn't even close to rising, but he got up anyways. Akamaru was curled up on Kiba's dirty laundry pile, snoring contentedly. Kiba sat down at his desk and took out his scrolls, looking them over. They were rather unwieldy and would be hard to fit into his pack if he wanted to take them into the field. He'd need to modify his backpack to hold his scrolls, brushes, and inks if he wanted to take his stuff with him.

" Screw that." he said to no one, digging into his desk for some money he had saved. " I'll just buy one." He figured the crazy lady would have one. He left Akamaru a note, stuffed his supplies into his backpack, and headed off.

It was rather pleasant on the way to the scroll shop. There was a light mist over the village, obscuring the morning stars only a little. The first light of morning had appeared when he arrived at the shop. He knocked on the door hopefully. There was a rustling as the old woman opened it.

" Hey. Do you have a pack I could buy to keep all this stuff in?" he asked. The old woman nodded and walked into the back of the shop. She returned with a sturdy looking leather pack with dozens of scroll holders of multiple sizes.

" This'll hold any scroll you want. You can fit the big one's on the back and the small ones on the straps." said the woman, showing him the bandoliers. " Here you go." she handed it to him.

" Is this free?" he said eagerly.

" Nope." said the woman, giving a toothy smile. She shut the door. Kiba immediately felt for his money, which was gone.

" How the hell did she do that?" he asked the open air.

---

It took him most of breakfast to fit all the scrolls and supplies into the pack. His family gave him a lot of funny looks, but thankfully no one laughed. Eagerly, Kiba and Akamaru departed for practice.

" Man, this things nice." Kiba said, flexing while wearing the backpack. " It's a lot lighter than I figured it'd be and there's like a billion pockets and holsters."

" Oh, hey Kiba!" said Naruto, running up.

" Hey Naruto. What's up?" he asked.

" Nothing. I woke up early from a sore stomach. Hinata-chan had us go to some weird restaurant last night. I haven't eaten that many vegetables ever." Naruto said, rubbing his stomach. " She was weird last night. She didn't agree with me like she always does."

" Well, she's a girl." Kiba said, giving Akamaru a mysterious look. " My dad always says to not expect to win with them."

---

" I'm going to have us go back to the old schedule for a while. Everyone has their own custom techniques they are working on, and doing nothing but group practice is going to hold everyone back." Asuma told then genin when practice began. " Morning's you'll work on your own techniques, afternoon's we'll spar or go do a mission."

" Hey pup." said Pakkun, bounding up to them. " About time to start."

" All right! One thing, though." Akamaru yipped, looking back to Kiba. " Could we, after today, start training only every other day? I'm supposed to train with Kiba too."

" Yeah. I don't want to do all that seal crap every day." said Kiba, taking the pack out and setting it down.

" Fine with me." said Pakkun. " Hey, do you know the technique that let's you speak to humans yet?"

" No." woofed Akamaru.

" Well, that's the first thing we'll work on." said Pakkun, leading Akamaru away.

Kiba opened the large scroll and began reading over the symbols and techniques, understanding them far better this time. Having done one scroll made everything seem less intimidating. Smiling, he set to making a new scroll.

_Squiggle…boxy-liney thing…smiley face…_

" Done!" he cried, holding the new scroll up. " Now to test it out!" He nipped his thumb and pressed it to the scroll. A small red bird appeared and ruffled its feathers.

" Hey. Thanks for showing up." Kiba said jokingly.

" Not a prolly.." replied the bird. Kiba almost fell back.

" You can talk?" he asked, recovering.

" Wot?" asked the bird.

" Uh, most animals can't talk." Kiba said slowly.

" Aye, daft one, arnt'e ye? Summons all got the gab if ye do it rightly." explained the bird.

" Really? Sweet. Uh, do all animals have an accent?" asked Kiba.

" Accent?" asked the bird, not understanding.

" Uh, sorry, never mind. So, I might summon you sometime if I need you." said Kiba rolling the scroll.

" Righto! See you then!" The bird saluted and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Kiba looked to his watch. It had been about a hour. He still had a two and a half hour's before they broke for lunch. _Let's see how many more I can finish._ thought Kiba determinedly.

---

When they met before lunchtime, Kiba proudly displayed nine scrolls on the front straps of his new backpack. Akamaru trotted up.

" Hi, Hinata." said Kiba in a strained human voice. The small dog relaxed, looking proud of himself.

" You talked!" exclaimed Naruto.

" Great job, Akamaru!" said Kiba, picking the small dog up.

" It's really hard, but it went pretty well." yipped Akamaru in his usual dog voice.

" What all can he say?" asked Hinata, smiling sweetly.

" Hi Hinata!" Akamaru said again. " That's all I got so far. But the hard part was learning to use my chakra for this." he yipped.

" Well, that's still good Akamaru." said Kiba, setting the dog down.

" Why'd you work on that rather than a combat technique?" asked Naruto.

" Hey, this way Akamaru can talk to you guys without me." replied Kiba.

" Oh. I just figured with that great ninja dog, you'd work on more useful techniques." Naruto said with a shrug.

" Hey, Naruto, your one to talk. Akamaru already knows more jutsu then you do since all you ever work on are your shadow clones." Kiba snapped back.

" Like I need anything else!" Naruto shot back. " Tell be one thing my clones can't do!"

" Uh, fight!" yelled Kiba. " Sure, you can mob you opponents with numbers, but you can't hit very hard. What happens if you run into someone that numbers don't work against?"

Naruto memory of the fight with Sasuke immediately flashed into his mind. " I'd…uh…"

" Kiba's got a point, Naruto." Asuma said, leading them towards the restaurant they usually went to for lunch. " You ought to learn a jutsu with more hitting power, or at least a second type of clones."

" There's other clone techniques?" asked Kiba.

" Well, yeah." said Asuma. " Water clones, mud clones, rock clones, there's a bunch of them. There all a bit different."

" I'll learn them!" Naruto shouted.

" Hey, at least it's something new." Asuma said to the others apologetically. " So, Kiba, Akamaru's showed us what he can do, how'd the morning go?"

" It was great!" Kiba said ecstatically. " Watch!" He pulled out a scroll and threw it open, placing his palm in the center of the design. He channeled chakra into the seal. A puff of smoke appeared, revealing a squirrel which ran up his arm onto his shoulder. Akamaru barked at it.

" Huh? Huh?" Kiba asked a rather unimpressed looking team.

" So you can make squirrels?" asked Naruto.

" No, summon them. I made these scrolls this morning. Hey, watch this. Go get me an acorn." The squirrel leapt away at Kiba's command, racing up a tree. A moment later it skittered back down and returned, presenting the acorn to Kiba. " They'll do what I ask if they can. You can have the acorn." he said to the squirrel who began to eat the nut. " Sure, squirrels aren't much, but from what I read some creatures you can summon are pretty strong."

" Kiba, you made all those this morning?" Asuma asked, astounded.

" Yeah." Kiba said proudly.

" Kid, I've seen people work of summoning scrolls before. If you know exactly what your doing, you can churn one out in, a day maybe. Some special seals you can do quicker, but those are all weapon summons. Even little scrolls like those should have taken you a long time."

" Really? It's pretty easy. You just draw the little things in the right order. How hard is that?" Kiba said, rolling the scroll up, feeling superior.

" Well, look out you two." Asuma said, addressing Naruto and Kiba. " Looks like we have another prodigy here."

---

" Hey! Were back!" said Kiba, squeezing through the dog door behind Akamaru. Tsume gave them a motherly smile. " Hey, mom, check this out!" Kiba took out he scrolls he had prepared. " They all work!"

" What?" asked his mother, surprised.

" During training today I made a bunch of summon scrolls and got them to work. Watch!" He pressed his hand to the scroll and channeled the chakra in. The red bird from earlier append.

" Wot? We have a misson, guv'nor?" it asked. Kiba's mother blinked incredulously.

" They just summon little animals at the moment, but with some practice I'll be able to summon things that can fight." Kiba told his mother, grinning ear to ear.

" Kiba, I don't know what to say." said his mother, dumbfounded. " Well, besides telling you that you should have applied yourself back in school like this."

" What?" Kiba exclaimed in disbelief.

" Well, you worked hard and saw progress. Imagine what you could have accomplished if you'd started a few years ago." Tsume turned and walked down the hall. " Hurry up, Kiba. It's almost dinnertime."

_Eh, it was a good day anyways. Mom can't ruin that._ Kiba thought happily, walking for the dining hall. He'd found something he was good at, helped Hinata out, and actually gotten a compliment from Asuma. All was good.


	12. Chapter 12

" Kiba, get yourself and your mobile petting zoo in gear!" shouted Asuma. The team was outside of the Inuzuka manor waiting for Kiba. They had been given a mission to guard a merchant heading to the border of the Wind country, and as usual Kiba was running behind.

" Asuma-sensei, when I can I learn about the other types of clones?" asked Naruto.

" Naruto, for the last four days I tried to get you to start learning those." Asuma sighed. " Why did you finally get interested now?"

" I donno." Naruto said blankly. Hinata had to suppress a smile.

" Fine. We got a while." Asuma said, taking a seat on a rock. " The first type, and one that you'll not find really useful are water clones. They have 1/10 the ability of the creator, but take very little chakra to create. Since chakra isn't your problem, no point learning them. The second type are mud clones. Unlike shadow clones, which create a replication from pure chakra, mud clones are animated soil. Since they have real mass its harder to destroy them, which means they can fight for longer. The downside is the more you form, the slower they are, and you can only form one clone at a time. I think these are the signs." Asuma formed the hand signs for the technique. " Take a while to memorize it, then try it."

" All right!" Naruto started performing the motions over and over.

" So, Hinata, I havn't really helped you much lately." said Asuma, apologetically. " I know what Kiba and Naruto are doing, so what have you been doing."

" Mostly I have practiced the Heavenly Palm and Jyuuken, sensei." Hinata said, gazing to the ground. " I have not attempted many new things."

" Well, better to do a few things good than many things bad. And, medical techniques are the most difficult ones, so don't feel bad." Asuma said, looking back at the manor as Kiba came running out.

" Sorry! I couldn't find my blank scrolls." Kiba apologized.

" What, are you going to make some new ones while were on duty?" asked Asuma.

" No, I just wanted some extras." Kiba said, pointing to several unmarked scrolls on his pack.

" What do all these do, anyways?" asked Asuma, pointing to the scrolls.

" These all let me summon birds and stuff for scouting." said Kiba, pointing to the scrolls on the right arm strap. " The one's on the left are all weapon and supply scrolls."

" Weapon scrolls?" said Naruto, looking up.

" Scrolls with weapons sealed in them that you can summon. Ten-Ten uses them." Asuma explained. " That's actually good thinking. You don't have to carry all the weapons that way. Why so many scouting scrolls?"

" Well, I figured it's good for variety. If you keep seeing the same animal following you all the time, you might think something's up." Kiba said, trying to sound intelligent and surprisingly, pulling it off.

" Any combat summons?" Asuma said, preparing new tactics.

" No. I was going to start on that next. The amount of detail those scrolls need is crazy and chakra you have to use to summon anything decent looks pretty tough." Kiba said, looking somewhat downhearted.

" Well, that's okay. Let's head out. They're waiting by the west gate." Asuma said, standing up and leading the way.

---

" My guards, good to see you!" said Obori, the fat merchant that had hired them. He was dressed in a cloak in the style of the Wind country. A wagon full of barrels, pulled by a single horse, was behind him.

" Uzamaki Naruto, reporting for duty!" proclaimed Naruto, stopping in front of the man.

" Sorry if were late. We got a little held up." Asuma said, apologetically. " This is, as you have heard, Naruto." Asuma motioned to Naruto, then to the others. " This is Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Akamaru." At the mention of his name, Akamaru barked. " We'll be escorting you to the border."

" Good to meet you all. Let us get underway." Obori got onto the cart and whipped the horse onwards.

" Hinata, take the lead and keep a eye out. Kiba, Naruto, and Akamaru, take sides. I'll bring up the rear." Asuma commanded. Everyone took their placed and followed the wagon out of the village and onto the wooded road.

" So, how are things in your village?" asked Obori. " I wasn't there long enough to get the news of the day."

" Things are fine." said Asuma. The genin all knew to keep tight-lipped about the village. " Not too much has gone on lately."

" Really?' said the merchant in a amused tone. " I had heard there had been some trouble and the Hyuuga clan leader had been executed."

" Well, that's true." Asuma said, faking an apologetic smile. " I think the clan's better for it, though. The new leader, well, I think she's doing a better job. Wouldn't want to say anything bad about her with a member of the family here, though." Asuma said, nodding to Hinata. " I'd hate to get her mad at me."

" Really?" Obori said, glancing to Hinata. " I had heard she was rather young."

" Young, yes. Weak, no." Asuma said with a laugh. " First time outside the village she run's into one of the Eleven Masters near the border of the Stone village. I hear it was a pretty quick kill, too."

" Really." said Obori. He looked interested at the information. " That's quite interesting."

There was something in the man's tone that made Naruto take a instant dislike to him.

---

It was past midday when Asuma spotted movement in the trees.

" Everyone, form up." Asuma said, drawing his knives. " Hinata, Byakugan."

Hinata moved close to the wagon and activated her eyes. She scanned the forest and found three individuals hiding about twenty meters to the right of the road. She signaled the number to Asuma.

" Naruto, send in some scouts. I want to know how tough these guy's are." Asuma ordered.

Naruto performed the jutsu, forming three clones, which took off in the direction Hinata pointed. They sped around the trunk of a large tree and spotted the three waiting attackers. Each wore a black bodysuit, a mask, and a Grass village insignia.

" Hi, wimps!" shouted clones, diving into close combat. They only managed a few attacks before being destroyed.

" We can take them." Naruto said as the memories came flooding into his mind. " I hit one of them before the clone went down and it looked like it hurt. Their taijutsu was nothing special, either."

" All right, Naruto, Kiba, your with me. Hinata, guard Obori." Asuma said, rushing forward.

The three grass ninja appeared at the roadside, obviously giving up on the ambush. Asuma dove forward in a vicious tackle, hitting the ninja in the chest and flying back into the trees.

The other two sped towards Kiba, trying to take him out quickly. The lead one threw a flying kick at Kiba, forcing him to dodge to the right, but the other lunged forward with a kunai. Kiba was faster, however, and grabbed the ninja's arm and threw him backwards. He landed on the ground with a heavy crunch. Kiba swung a heavy punch at the other which connected with his face, knocking him back.

Asuma stood up, looking down at the ninja he had tackled. There were two deep gouges in the man's chest where his blades had struck. However, when he looked closer, he saw no blood, only a dark, gunky substance. The man leapt to his feet and swung at Asuma. The attack was laughably slow, and Asuma was able to dodge and sever the mans arm at the elbow. Confirming his suspicions, no blood came from the wound, only more of same substance. He leapt backwards to the wagon.

" These aren't real. They're mud clones. Really good ones too, if they fooled Hinata's Byakugan." Asuma explained as the two ninja Kiba had downed got up. Asuma beheaded them quickly. They collapsed heavily to the ground and transformed back into mud.

" More are coming!" Hinata called. " From every direction!"

" Dammit!" Asuma swore. " Naruto, as many clones as you can, now!"

" Right!" shouted Naruto eagerly, slamming the seal together. A large crowd of clones appeared and formed a perimeter.

" So, we just beat them until they fall apart?" Kiba asked excitedly.

" That's the plan. " Asuma said, settling down.

" All right! Akamaru!" Kiba said, motioning to the dog. Akamaru ran over snapped a soldier pill Kiba tossed to him. They quickly performed the Beast Clone technique. " We'll be back!" shouted Kiba as he ran into the woods.

Kiba spotted a group of clones and motioned. He and Akamaru charged, scattering the clones. Kiba hit the first one in a heavy punch to the gut, knocking the clone backwards. Akamaru gashed one's face with his claws before jumping and landing on another, snapping it's neck with a loud crunch. In unison they performed the Piercing Fang technique and struck several others, shredding them instantly and sending mud flying.

Back by the wagon, the clones had begun to assault the perimeter. Shadow clones piled upon the mud clones, slashing them with kunai and bludgeoning them with dozens of fists. Hinata sliced one with a Jyuuken strike, spinning past the counterattack and facing another. The clones were slow, but their attacks would hurt if they connected so Hinata fought defensively. She downed another clone with a hit which liquefied it's head before racing to help a lone shadow clone that was threatened by two mud clones.

" Hinata, how many can you see?" Asuma asked as he punched though another. He was fighting near the wagon, keeping the merchant safe. The man huddled in the wagon, terrified.

" I can see nearly a hundred clones!" Hinata shouted as she eviscerated one.

" That's it? That's not to impressive." Naruto said with a smirk as he formed another platoon of clones. " We'll outnumber them in no time."

" That's the spirit, kid!" Asuma shouted as the clones near him were pummeled by a wave of orange.

Akamaru ripped though another clone with the Piercing Fang before landing. " Eighteen!" he barked.

" Twenty!" Kiba yelled back as he smashed a clone into a tree, splintering the bark and killing the clone.

" That last piece of jerky's gonna be mine!"

" Not!" Akamaru shot back as he spun into a trio of clones. " Twenty one!"

" Damn!" Kiba swore as a clone landed a kick to his back, knocking him down. He rolled away from the next attack onto his feet, drawing his shuriken scroll. He brushed his hand against the seal, triggering the chakra. In rapid succession he began summoning and throwing shuriken at the nearby clones, mowing several down. He rolled the empty scroll back up and put it back.

BAM! Another clone fell to the ground as a shadow clone landed a kick from the air. Immediately a team of clones mobbed it, bludgeoning it until it reverted to mud.

" Not a good idea, taking on the future Hokage!" Naruto taunted as he punch a mud clone. " My clones can take yours on with no problem!"

" I have to admit, they suck compared to your clones." Asuma shouted to Naruto, knocking a clone sprawling with a powerful strike. " They either really are weak to start with or used less chakra so they could make more to outnumber us."

" Hah!" Naruto cheered as he flipped over a mud clone, jamming a kunai in it's back. " They shoulda just fought us directly. No way you can outnumber my shadow clones."

" Right, Naruto-kun!" agreed Hinata. Five mud clones charged her. She turned to face them, entering the pose for the Divine Sixty Four Strikes and channeling the chakra. The world slowed and she ripped though the clones with dazzling ease. She continued the jutsu as she charged forward, slicing though several ranks at lighting speed.

" I'm out of chaka!" yipped Akamaru as he transformed back into his canine form. He landed and leapt for the nearest clone, biting down on its throat and pushing away. The clone gurgled as it's neck was ripped apart and collapsed. Akamaru bounded towards Kiba, spitting out the mud.

" Yeah, same here. And, I lost count again." Kiba said as the Beast Clone jutsu collapsed. A lone clone charged him, but he dispatched it with a kick to the face. " Let's head back." Kiba said, turning and heading back to the others.

" Hey, were back! We took out at least fifty!" Kiba shouted as he and Akamaru landed on the back of a pair of mud clones. Akamaru bit down on the neck again while Kiba slit the clone's throat with a recently summoned kunai.

" I got forty nine!" Asuma shot back as he sliced a clone open. " My mistake, fifty!"

" We were counting?" Naruto asked, confused. The mud clone he was fighting swung a punch at him, but a shadow clone intercepted the arm and flipped the clone.

" It doesn't matter!" Asuma shouted. " How many left, Hinata?"

" Only eight." Hinata replied. A quick scan revealed eight clones in close proximity.

Seconds later, the last mud clones were stabbed, punched, and Jyuuken-slapped to death.

" Woo." said Kiba leaning against the wagon.

" All remaining shadow clones, go look for the real guys. They should be nearby." Asuma said, walking over to the wagon. The clones eagerly ran off though the forest. Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru, despite their fatigue, took positions around the wagon, watching for more assailants. " Obori, are you okay?"

" Y-yes." replied the portly man as he sat up.

" This is a C-Rank mission, so I'm rather surprised that we ran into enemy ninja. You have anyone after you?" Asuma said in a intimidating tone.

" Well…." said the merchant, casting his eyes down. " I may have sold some faulty merchandise in a Grass village. I didn't think they'd be able to find me, though."

" What was it?" Asuma asked dryly.

" Explosive tags. I picked up two hundred of them from a man I know. The seals weren't perfect so they didn't always explode. I may have…forgotten to tell the buyer that." said Obori, sweating under Asuma's gaze.

" Hinata!" Asuma called. " Check out the barrels. I want to know what's in them. Hell, check the whole wagon."

Hinata nodded and activated her eyes.

" Seven of the barrels are only full of water, but one of them also has a cask full of papers in it." Hinata reported as she searched.

" What are those?" Asuma asked, eyebrows raised.

" They-they are my contracts and receipts. I have to keep them safe." Obori said nervously.

" Asuma-sensei, he is lying. They appear to be maps and reconnaissance reports on the Grass country." Hinata said, turning to her instructor.

" I found them." said Naruto cracked his knuckles loudly and startling Obori.

" Well, our mission just changed. Kiba, break open the barrel and get the cask. Hinata, deal with him." Asuma made a motion to Obori. Before the man could react she paralyzed him with several Jyuuken strikes. " Once you have the cask, you two head back to the village and get the information to ANBU. The spy here might have saved us several months of surveillance work. Naruto, me and you have some Grass ninja to take out."

" Why? I thought they were after fat boy." Kiba said as he pulled the cask out of the water.

" They want the information. We'll take them out so the Grass village doesn't know we have it. We'll pick you up on the way back, so stay put." Asuma said, looking down at the immobile Obori.

" I'll send him with them." Naruto said, forming several clones who picked Obori up. " No sense leaving him here."

" Good idea." Asuma said, patting Naruto's shoulder. " All right, where are they?" Naruto raced off in the direction of the Grass ninja, Asuma following.

" Man, I wish I was with them." whined Akamaru.

" So do we. That sounds better than hauling fatty here." said one of the clones.

" L-lets head out." said Hinata, assuming command.

---

" They were near here!" Naruto said, landing on a branch. Asuma positioned himself in a nearby tree. " I'll send out more scouts."

" No need." said one of the Grass ninja, landing near them.

" You ready to get your ass kicked?" Naruto shouted to him, confidently.

" No." the ninja said, staring intently. " I'm here to offer you a chance to get out of our way."

" And why would we do that? Your clone army's gone. I doubt your much tougher." Asuma said drawing his chakra knife. The man took a combat pose. Asuma heard rustling and sup. Behind them were three more black clothed ninja. These, however, were armed katana's, and from their movements they didn't look like pushovers.

" All the clones were mine, and I'm the weakest on our team. My teammate's will tear you apart. Now, surrender nicely." said the first grass ninja, drawing two shuriken.

" Heh. I bet you don't have much chakra left." Asuma said, stretching. " I'm sitting pretty near full, however, and Naruto, well, I don't think he's noticed the drain yet. Naruto, I'm going to want ten clones on each of these guys."

" Right!" Naruto complied, forming the jutsu. There was a blast of smoke and the air was filled with clones. The grass ninja quailed for a moment, but then rallied and charged.

Asuma felt sorry for the first Grass ninja, who helplessly threw his shuriken into two clones before Naruto and eight copies smashed his face into the dirt. The Grass ninja with the katana's also sliced though several, but they were quickly overwhelmed.

Then, a fifth ninja appeared.

The ninja grabbed a handful of leaves as it descended, performed a jutsu, then threw them like shuriken. The leaves cut though the clones pinning the others down, freeing them. Asuma jammed chakra into his legs and leapt at the new ninja, who blocked his strike with a metal arm guard, sending them both hurtling to the ground.

" Get the kid, quick!" shouted one of the ninja facing Naruto. They charged quickly, but unfortunately weeks of training with Kiba had given Naruto practice against faster foes. Naruto formed a barricade of clones and leapt away. The ninja crashed into the clones and began to hack their way though, getting mired in the numbers. The real Naruto leapt onto a high branch and began hurling shuriken into the fray. He hit one of the ninja in the shoulder, causing him to stagger and drop his sword. His was instantly hauled down by the clones.

" Shit, run!" shouted one of the ninja as his comrade disappeared in a sea of clones. Naruto leapt down into the mess, landing on the captured ninja's flailing hand with a crunch. He grinned and formed more clones, which gave chase to the horrified ninja. He set after them as his clones pummeled the prisoner.

" You are the Thirds son, a close quarters and fire jutsu specialist." said the ninja, dodging away from Asuma. She had to be a ANBU level combatant with how she was fighting. She landed on the ground and placed her hands flat on the grass. Suddenly, the grass stood up straight and began gleaming like metal.

Asuma breathed deep and released another cloud of flaming ash as the grass shot upwards like a thousand needles. Most burned in the cloud, which set the trees aflame, but some made it though. He dodged backwards, but he was hit in the upper leg and arm. He landed and stumbled for a moment.

A instant later the ANBU ninja was upon him, delivering a punch to his jaw with her metal covered arm. Asuma staggered back for a moment. Before she could attack again he recovered and channeled chakra into his knives, sending whirling, sword shaped wind chakra out. He had reach on her now and slashed. She dodged, casueing him to chop a large section out of a tree. She landed nearby and threw a kunai, which he deflected. A moment later he noticed the explosive tag and leapt backwards, avoiding the blast.

" Damn!" he swore. He had barely landed before she came in with a flying kick. He blocked the kick and she fliped backwards, grabbing more leaves as she spun. She threw the leaves at him with lightning speed, so Asuma released the chakra in the knives, sending a blast of wind forward to scatter the leaves. She dodged behind the damaged tree, which was struck by the wind chakra and covered in deep gashes.

This was going to be a long fight.

---

" We are being followed." Hinata called to Kiba as she leapt off a branch. " Three more Grass ninja. These are not clones."

" Crap. Me and Akamaru are almost out of chakra." said Kiba, leaping alongside Hinata. The clone team was following along the ground, unable to run as easily with their hefty prisoner.

" My reserves are only half gone. I will engage them so you can continue." Hinata said, landing.

" No way! We'll help!" Kiba cried in protest.

" You can't! You need to get that back to Kohona like sensei ordered!" Hinata argued.

" Fine, but gimme a second." said Kiba, landing and setting the cask down. He drew out the bird scroll he had created and channeled the last of his chakra into it. In a puff of smoke a six small birds appeared. A red one hopped forward.

" Oi! This better be summat or I'll stop commin'!" it said.

" It is. You guy's help her out by distracting the attackers or something." Kiba told it. They birds all took off and started flying around importantly. " Its something. See ya later." Kiba said with a shrug before he and Akamaru continued onwards.

Moment's later the three pursuers came into view. They spotted Hinata in their way, but didn't slow down, obviously not expecting a large threat. One broke off and headed towards her, diving towards her with a kunai. She pirouetted away from the strike and jabbed forward with a Jyuuken strike the ninja barely blocked. He made the mistake of using his arm, however, and recoiled in pain as the nerves and blood veins were severed. Hinata jabbed him twice more in the chest, sending him falling to the ground.

" You follow the other, I'll catch up!" said one of the two ninja, turning back. Hinata raced across the branches towards the ninja who remained. He, however, dodged away before she could get close, hurling shuriken and kunai towards her. She deflected and dodged them all, but she didn't notice a explosive tag on a kunai until it landed in the tree by her. It exploded, sending her flying forward in a spray of flaming splinters.

She tumbled downwards, catching a branch more though luck then effort. She tried to swing onto it, but there was a large chunk of wood in her right leg which madeit had to move. The ninja landed by her, drawing a kunai for the kill. Before he struck, however, the birds swarmed his head, pecking at him.

" Fuck!" he swore, stumbling back. Despite the situation, Hinata blushed and she forced herself onto the branch. The birds assailed him as he swung the kunai at them. The red one darted in and dove for his face. It pecked them mans eye from his socket before being slammed by a flailing arm and disappearing The other birds also vanished, the summon wearing out.

" My goddamn eye!" The man said, clutching his face. " You bitch! I'll kill you!" He charged forwards with the kunai, swinging it at her in a rage. She stumbled backwards, avoiding the attack but losing her balance because of her weak leg. She fell backwards, managing to grab onto the man as she fell. He tumbled over her, hurting towards the ground. He swung the kunai back, planning on killing her in midair when she couldn't attack.

Suddenly the air went dark and the world slowed. The green pentagram of the Divine Sixty Four Strikes appeared around the man and Hinata struck forwards, paralyzing his arm with her first attack. The following attacks stuck the mans chest, liquefying his internal organs. The force of the hits propelled them downwards even faster, sending them crashing to the forest floor. The ninja's corpse stuck with a unpleasant squish a second before Hinata his the body, which cushioned her fall. She rolled to the side, groaning in pain for a moment before slipping unconscious.

---

" There's still someone there!" Akamaru barked, ears flapping in the find.

" Hey, clones, catch!" Kiba said, tossing the cask down. One of the clones let go of Obori and caught it, nodding and racing onwards at top speed. Kiba and Akamaru halted. Kiba drew a soldier pill for each of them and tossed one to Akamaru before swallowing his. " Any ideas?" asked Kiba as the lone ninja jumped into view.

" One!" woofed Akamaru, bounding forwards. " Stay back a bit!" he barked back.

" Right!" Kiba leapt upwards, catching a high branch and flipping onto it.

The ninja swiped at Akamaru with a kick, but the dog leapt the attack and landed behind him. As the ninja turned, setting himself to face Kiba and Akamaru, Akamaru took a breath. He then let out a high pitched, whining bark made Kiba's teeth hurt, even from forty feet away. The nina, mere steps away, recoiled and fell.

" All right!" cheered Kiba, leaping towards the dog. Akamaru panted in a raspy tone, his vocal cords strained by the attack. " Pakkun teach you that?" The dog nodded, looking proud. Below they noticed the ninja struggling to his feet.

" He's…still okay, but…messed up." Akamaru rasped. Kiba nodded and leapt down to face the ninja while the dog rested.

Kiba landed and raced towards the stunned ninja. While the man wobbled, he jammed together his hands forming a jutsu. The branch under Kiba's feet suddenly rotted, breaking under his weight. Kiba tumbled for a moment before grabbing onto a tree. The ninja leapt down clumsily and sung a off balance punch. Kiba dodged and countered, striking at the man's midsection. However, the ninja was wearing a metal armor plate under his uniform, and when Kiba's hand connected he could feel it break.

" Shit!" Kiba said, staggering back. It felt like his wrist was full of glass. A second later he was knocked to the ground by a heavy kick from the ninja, who lost his balance and fell with Kiba. They landed on the ground heavily and each staggered to their feet.

Kiba's right hand was broken and his left arm, which had been hit, felt dislocated. The ninja staggered towards him, blood streaming from his ears and nose. While the man was heavily dazed, without his arms Kiba couldn't fight back, which put him in a bad spot. Akamaru was above and winded so he couldn't expect much help there.

Suddenly, Kiba tasted blood.

_Dammit…_he thought as he felt the pain. He had bit the end of his tongue as he fell. In a flash of inspiration, he realized how to win.

Before the ninja could react, he leapt forward and bit down on the man's jugular with his famous Inuzuka teeth.

---

" Come on!" shouted Naruto, still chasing the fleeing ninja. " Just give up and fight me!" He dodged a hastily thrown kunai and put on a extra burst of speed. He and a squad of clones had almost caught the fleeing ninja.

One of the ninja turned to make a stand, while the other kept fleeing. The braver ninja decapitated a shadow clone with his sword, but was hit in the midsection by a flying tackle and tumbled into the brush.

" You guys have him!" shouted Naruto as he followed the fleeing ninja. He raced forward another hundred feet before finding the man trapped at the edge of a chasm. " Got you." Naruto said, landing triumphantly.

The Grass ninja formed the sign for the mud clone and out of the ground rose a copy. They readied their swords, qualing slightly.

" Let's try that out…I want to see if mine are any good." Naruto said, forming the jutsu as well. A identical copy rose from the ground, smiling ear to ear. " Success!" cheered the clone.

" How…how can you make so many clones?" said the ninja, backing towards the edge of the cliff.

" It's my specially." Naruto said, smiling. The clone Naruto raced forwards. The ninja's clone met the charge and swung the blade in an arcing downwards slash. The mud clone nimbly bypassed the attack and delivered a bone crunching punch to the other clones chest, causing it to revert and splatter.

" Woah, these hit way harder." Naruto said, blinking. The clone leapt forward in a kick at the man, falling faster. " Oh, I get it! They're heavier too!" The ninja rolled to the side and the mud clone went flying into the chasm, flailing helplessly. " Eh, I like shadow clones better, but that's pretty cool." Naruto formed his favorite jutsu and ten clones appeared.

" I surrender!" said the ninja, throwing down his katana. Naruto smiled widely as two clones grabbed the man's arms and began to lead him away.

" Look out!" shouted a clone, which threw himself in the path of a shuriken which would have struck Naruto in the back of the head. Another zoomed past, however, striking the captured ninja in the heart. He fell to the ground lifelessly.

" I know which of you is real, so I can kill you!" yelled the braver ninja, falling from above and landing in the middle of the clones. He swung viciously towards Naruto, who barely ducked the blade. A clone tackled the ninja from behind and pinned him to the ground. There was a puff of smoke, however, and the ninja disappeared, leaving a log with a explosive note on it. Before Naruto could dodge it detonated, sending Naruto flying off the edge of the cliff.

" Mass Shadow Clone!" Naruto yelled in a panic, forcing the jutsu together. Twenty clones appeared in midair, grabbing each others ankles like a whip and catching Naruto. They swung in a chain and flung Naruto onto the Cliffside before vanishing.

" Nice try!" Naruto shouted, diving forward. The ninja faced him from a short distance, panting and holding his katana wearily. He looked heavily beat up from fighting his way though the clones. " But the future Hokage isn't going down that easy!"

" A kid like you…" said the ninja, gripping the hilt of his sword and settling into a combat position. " There's no way you should be able to do all this." The man watched tensely as Naruto formed another team of shadow clones.

" Yeah. It's kinda unfair, isn't it?" Naruto said, smirking. The ninja charged again, prepared for a stabbing attack. " Hey guy's, I have a idea!" Naruto formed a mud clone. The other clones caught on instantly and ran to the mud clone picking him up and threw him into the air. Naruto then leapt into the air and grabbed the clone by the ankles. The clone twisted forward as Naruto flung it, sending the clone hurtling towards the surprised ninja like a missile. Unable to stop himself the ninja was struck by the heavy mud clone and sent crashing to the ground under the weight of the reformed mud.

" All right! We'll call that the Clone Catapult or something! Let's head back to Asuma-sensei!" Naruto said, pumping his arm into the air. The clones cheered with him and raced off.

Under the mud, the ninja stirred, crawling out and gasping for air.

---

Asuma felt woozy.

He has to deep cuts, several blades of grass imbedded in him, and a lower chakra reserve than was comfortable.

It was moment like this that made him feel alive.

He dodged right, avoiding a slash from the ANBU ninja's sword. He slashed backwards with the wind chakra as he did, but the ninja dodged. She landed on burning branch and dove off. The fire from all Asuma's techniques had started a decent blaze. The smoke had begun to provide a decent amount of haze, and the heat was starting to get distracting.

" Here goes nothing." he said, building up a mass of chakra in one of his knives. He had stored almost as much as he could when he spotted the enemy ninja in the lower branches. He hurled the chakra laden knife and dove for cover. It shot like a bolt of lighting past the ninja, but the shockwave that followed sent the ninja hurtling downwards. The knife struck the ground and the chakra was release, sending a massive wave of uncontrolled wind chakra in every direction. The ninja was propelled into the blast wave and disintegrated by the attack as it ripped though the trees. The fires were blown out by the massive gale.

When the attack subsided Asuma jumped down to the ground. He limped forward into the crater and picked up his knife before hobbling in the direction of Kohona.

" Hey, sensei, wait up!" said an ash covered Naruto, bounding into view.

" Naruto, how'd it go?" Asuma asked before swallowing a plasma pill.

" I got them all, sensei. What happened?" Naruto asked, surveying the damage.

" I had to use one of my big attacks to win." Asuma said with a smirk. Naruto looked up at him in amazement. " Come on. We need to find the others. "

They moved forwards as quickly as they could. Eventually they came upon Hinata, who was sitting by two unmoving ninja.. She was attempting to heal her leg and pull out several embedded chucnks of wood.

" Asuma-sensei, Kiba and Akamaru went on ahead while I fought these two." Hinata said, motioning to the corpses. " One slipped past me, though."

" Naruto, go check on it." Asuma ordered. Naruto leapt into the trees eagerly. " How are you?" Asuma said, taking a seat to rest.

" I am in decent shape. My leg is hurt the worst, but I think my arm's bruising from when I landed." Hinata reported, holding forward her left arm and wincing.

" I hate to ask this, but could I get you to heal a few of my cuts first? I'm pretty beat up." Asuma said. Hinata nodded and quickly set to healing the wounds. " Good job on those two, Hinata."

" Thank you, sensei." Hinata said, focusing on her work but enjoying the compliment none the less.

---

" Kiba!" shouted Naruto as he ran though the forest. " Kiba!"

" I'm over here!" called Kiba. Naruto turned and headed for the sound of Kiba's voice. He came upon Kiba, who was sitting on Obori, the clones nowhere in sight. Akamaru was sitting nearby with the cask. " The clones disappeared after we beat the last ninja."

" Sorry." Naruto said with a laugh, walking up. He noticed Kiba's face was covered in blood and his arms were hanging limply. " Are you okay?"

" Broken arm, dislocated arm, and I had to bite a guy's neck like twenty times to kill him." Kiba said, wincing. " What happened to you?"

" Huh?" asked Naruto, looking at himself. He was covered in ash and debris from the explosion. " Oh, I got hit by a bomb and fell off a cliff."

" Damn." said Akamaru, wagging his tail.

Twenty minutes later Hinata and Asuma hobbled into view.

" Hey!" Naruto called, bringing them over.

" Kiba, what's with the blood?" Asuma asked, siting down heavily.

" I totally bit a guy to death." Kiba said. Hinata and Asuma stared at him for a moment.

" Okaaay then." said Asuma shaking his head. " Let's rest here for a bit. Kiba, could you help me with some bandages?"

" I'd like to, but I can't move my arms." Kiba said, moving his torso slightly.

" That explains the biting." Asuma replied as Hinata went over to Kiba. She examined his arms.

" I'm not good enough to fix your broken hand, but I can do a little." Hinata said, performing the jutsu and mending the bones slightly. " It'll hurt less and won't get any worse."

" Thanks, Hinata. I think the others dislocated." Kiba said, looking at the other arm. Hinata rolled up his sleeve and looked at the shoulder. She suddenly grabbed his arm and shoved it, setting it into place. Kiba bit his lip as his eyes moistened, trying not to cry.

" I think I'm the only one that didn't get hurt." Naruto said. " That stinks."

" Why, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, voicing everyone's question.

" Because I don't get to have you heal it." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

Hinata blushed deeply, walked over to him, and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a imprint in the ash.

---

It was a quiet morning at the west gate.

Neji liked that.

Guy had gotten his team a mission as the gate guards for several days, filling in for the regulars. Lee and Guy weren't doing much of a job, but they were training slightly farther from Neji than usual, which always made for a good day. So far, he and Ten-Ten had sat there for three hours and hadn't seen anyone.

" The strange part is," sighed Ten-Ten, looking over a weapon scroll for the millionth time. She was somewhat obsessive about checking to make sure it was in order. " Since the chunnin exam's are so near, I'd rather be training."

" Please be quiet. I am trying to meditate." replied Neji, his eyes closed. Ten-Ten sighed, wishing she had been assigned to a less defective team. She looked up and spotted a ragged looking group coming up the road. She focused and realized who it was.

" Neji, wake up!" she said, shaking Neji's shoulder. He broke his meditation grumpily and looked around. He spotted Asuma's team walking towards them, Naruto frog marching a man like a prisoner. Everyone looked beat up, injured, and dirty.

" Here." said Asuma, plopping a wooden cask down on the guards desk. " Take this and Obori here to the Hokage. This has a bunch of maps of the Grass country in it and he's a Wind country spy. Tell him that were going to the hospital and we'll fill out our reports when were not suffering from blood loss." Asuma slumped offwards as Naruto pushed the obese man towards them. Neji stood up and grabbed the mans arm, watching the other team walk away.

" That looks way better than guard duty." mused Ten-Ten.

" Hey, can we go by the ramen stand?" asked Naruto.

" No, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, stopping the idea there.

" Aww." sighed Naruto.

---

Off in the Grass Village, a mud covered, severely beaten ninja drug himself into the gate. Guard's rushed over to help the man.

" Report." asked the jounin on guard.

" Our teams…catch Obori….kid…orange…clones….Leaf…" rasped the man before falling still.


	13. Chapter 13

-1Asuma could remember a happy time before meetings.

Kurenai ended that.

He sat there, twiddling a cigarette he wasn't allowed to smoke while his father droned on and on about missions, reports, and all the things Asuma really didn't care for. It had been rather nice when his team's mission had come up and the other jounin's had all looked to him. His students were already renowned as prodigies, which reflected well upon him considering he had been training them for only three months, and half of that had been missions. Their last mission had taken a week for everyone to heal up from. The other genin were, from what Guy, Kakashi, and Kurenai had told him, quite jealous. Asuma also suspected they were as well.

" Finally, we come to the Chunnin exam, which begins in one week." said the Hokage, wrapping his droning up. " Jounin's that believe their teams are prepared should step forwards."

" My team is ready for the exam!" said Guy, stepping forward and giving his thumbs up pose. The glint off his teeth blinded everyone for a moment.

" I think mine is too." said Kakashi, standing up as well. " At the worst it will give them a idea what to expect."

" My genin need a kick in the ass to motivate them." said Kurenai, standing up. It was rare to hear her swear, so everyone was quite convinced her students were lazy. " This might do it."

" Eh, screw it." Asuma said, lighting his cigarette and sitting back. He took a deep drag and relaxed. Everyone in the room stared at him. " What? I needed a smoke!" he said defensively.

" Asuma, we were discussing entering the genin teams into the chunnin exam." said the Third in a disapproving tone. " Do you wish to enter yours?"

" Hell no." replied Asuma. There was a muted murmur throughout the room.

" Really? They've done quite well lately." said the Third, looking at Asuma curiously.

" Well, yeah, but come on. You'd have to be a reckless idiot with no clue what your doing or care for the brats safety to enter them after three months." Asuma said boldly. There was a muted hush as Kakashi and Kurenai stewed in the unintended insult.

" Well, I'm sure your students won't mind being the only of your…group not joining in." said the Third, motioning to the other three jounin. Asuma blinked.

" Dammit, now I have to." said Asuma, annoyed. " If Naruto and Kiba didn't get to compete they whine forever. Sign the brats up." he said, sitting back.

" Yes!" shouted Naruto, breaking a ceiling tile and falling into the room. He picked himself up off the floor nervously. " Heh. I'll…go now." he said, walking towards the door. Asuma sighed.

" Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, out." he stated aloud. The others all timidly dropped from the ceiling and followed Naruto. " I need a smoke break." said Asuma, walking after his students, puffing on the cigarette.

The silence after he closed the door was ever so awkward.

--- 

The next day at practice, everyone was excited.

" So sensei, what kind of test is the exam?" Hinata asked eagerly.

" Well, it varies. I can't really tell you either. I'm not allowed to." said Asuma, looking annoyed at the restriction. " I can tell you we need to focus your skills and get ready. Naruto, I want you to learn another type of jutsu, I want Kiba to have a useful summon, and, um…Hinata…to…" Asuma said, fumbling.

" I have a technique to work on." Hinata said, drawing out a scroll. " The Heavenly Spin."

" Woah, there. There's no way you'll learn that in a week, Hinata." said Asuma. " That has a reputation as a incredibly difficult technique."

" Still, I'd like to begin, and even if it doesn't work completely, it will be useful." Hinata reasoned. Asuma looked at the girl for a moment, then shrugged.

" All right, I need some money, sensei." Kiba said. " The old lady at the scroll shop's taken all mine. I even sold back the scroll creation manual for more stuff."

" Fine Here." Asuma said, opening his wallet and handing Kiba a handful of money. Kiba waved and ran off, Akamaru following behind.

" So, what kind of clone am I going to learn?" asked Naruto.

" Naruto, don't learn a new clone. The only choice left is water clones, which aren't useful for you, and rock clones, which no one in the village knows how to make. I want you to learn some new technique." Asuma said, feeling a Naruto Headache coming on.

" Oh." Naruto said, eyes downcast. " Hey! I'll ask Iruka-sensei!" Naruto perked up instantly and raced off towards the academy.

" Well, I guess I'll help you this week, Hinata." Asuma said.

" Thank you, sensei." said Hinata, unrolling the scroll and explaining what she needed to do.

--- 

" Holy…." was all Kiba could manage. He'd bought the large scroll that was necessary for a proper summon, finally having something to fit into the large scroll holder in his pack. He's gone home and unrolled it on the dining hall table, nearly covering the table that could seat to entire clan. The new summon manual and his supplies sit nearby, ready for him.

He was just staggered by the size of the scroll.

" Okay…" he said to himself, unrolling the instruction scroll. " Woah…this has a lot more seals…." he mumbled, looking it over. He had to cover almost every square inch of the scroll with seals, and he had to choose the animal that best fit him.

" How the hell can I know that?" Kiba said, sitting back angrily. Akamaru jumped into a chair and barked, insulted. " Oh. Yeah." he said, rubbing the back of his head. " I guess I'll get started on the outer charka paths."

--- 

" Who can tell me the names of the five great countries?" Iruka asked the class. The fidigity students looked at him blankly before Hanabi put her hand in the air.

" Leaf, Wind, Grass, Stone, and Water." she said, sounding bored.

" Good!" Iruka said, smiling. At least someone would answer. Konohamaru mumbled something, making his friends laugh. Hanabi glared towards the troublesome boy. They had taken a dislike to each other instantly. " Now, who can tell me which of them is the most powerful?"

" Who cares, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto said as he threw the door open. Konohamaru perked up in his seat for the first time.

" Naruto, what are you doing here?" asked Iruka irately." I'm teaching class."

" I know, but I need you to show me one of those trap techniques you told me about. Asuma-sensei is training us for the Chunnin exam and I need to learn a new jutsu." Naruto replied impatiently.

" Naruto, I can't just leave the class. We were at the end of the history lesson and about to start the combat drills." Iruka said with a sigh.

" That works!" Naruto said, forming the shadow clone technique. The hall behind him was suddenly filled with clones. " Sparing partners for everyone!"

" All right!" said Konohamaru, leaping from his desk and running towards the training field. Before Iruka could protest the others followed his lead.

" Woah, he really is like me." Naruto said, blinking.

" He still doesn't compete with the original." Iruka said, eye twitching. He sat down in his chair defeated. " So, trap techniques. What did you want to learn?"

" Um…" Naruto said. It was obvious he didn't have a specific one in mind.

" Well, you have four choices. Theres the Four Seal Cage, the Illusion Cage, and the Explosive Seal." Iruka said, knowing which one Naruto would take.

" The explosive one." Naruto said without hesitation.

" Fine. The explosive seal is like the one on explosive tags, though less permanent. You form the jutsu and press your hand to a surface, transferring the jutsu. You can trigger it with your chakra at any time." explained Iruka.

" Cool." Naruto said, mind whirring with possibilities.

--- 

" Kiba, it's been five days!" screeched Tsume. The boy had commandeered the clans biggest table for the creation of some scroll he had been working on night and day. He had only left the room for brief breaks to eat and go to the bathroom.

" I'm almost done!" Kiba yelled. His mother was pacing around the table. " I have to draw like two more symbols, make the contract, and I'm finished."

" You have that right." his mother hissed though her teeth. Kiba finished covering the last blank spot and sat back, exhausted. He then bit his finger and pressed it to the seal, finishing the scroll. His mother began to roll it up immediately.

" Hey! Come on, I need to check everything!' Whined Kiba as his mother handed him the scroll.

" No, you don't. Go take a shower and get out of the house." she ordered. Kiba left the room, fitting the scroll in his backpack and muttering under his breath.

After he had cleaned himself up and changed into new clothes, he left the house and headed towards the training field where his team was. On the way he passed the ramen stand and found Naruto.

" Hey Naruto! I finished the scroll!" cheered Kiba. Naruto slurped the last bite of ramen up.

" Cool. I have a new trick for my clones I think sensei will like." Naruto said competitively. He handed his bowl back and paid for his meal. " Lets go see how Hinata-chan is doing."

They arrived at the training field and found an exhausted Hinata, a battered Asuma, and dozens of shallow dimples in the ground.

" Hey!" called Kiba as they walked up. Hinata and Asuma looked up at them weakly.

" Hello Naruto-kun!" Hinata said as Naruto walked up. He smiled to her. " How was the training?"

" Pretty cool. I got Iruka-sensei to show me a technique he liked. How's the spin thingy?" Naruto asked.

" It is incomplete, but I belive it will still be useful." replied Hinata.

" Let's show each other our new techniques real quick before heading out for a dinner." Asuma said, sitting down on a bench. " Kiba, let's see you go first."

" All right!" Kiba bit his thumb, pressed it to the ground, and forced all the chakra he could out. There was a blast of smoke and next to Akamaru appeared three large, vicious looking dogs. The nearest one growled at Naruto, making him back up. " Ninja dogs!" said Kiba triumphantly. " They're like the one's my mom uses. Me and Akamaru can use our techniques with them or they can just fight for us."

" How good are they?" asked Naruto nervously.

" Like bigger, meaner Akamaru's." Kiba said before leaning down to his dog. " For the moment." he said, petting the dog. " Akamaru also has these really loud bark that can disorient people."

" Good. How much chakra does that take you to summon them?" asked Asuma.

" A lot. Those three took half my chakra. I want to keep the rest for the Beast Clone and Piercing Fang." Kiba said, dismissing the summons.

" That's pretty good. Hinata, your turn." Asuma said, turning to the girl who had finished resting. She walked several paces away and suddenly spun on one foot. Dozens of streams of chakra shot from her body, whiling around her at a high speed. She slowed and regained her balance.

" The Heavenly Spin technique forms a shield of chakra around me and deflects everything. I have not perfected it, so the shield does not completely form, but it will still knock nearby things back." Hinata said, eyes downcast. " I am sorry I did not complete my training."

" Hinata, that's still really cool!" Naruto said, trying to cheer her up.

" Yeah, Hinata, don't underestimate yourself. Hitting that barrier is like taking a punch from a Akimachi." Asuma said, indicating his many bruises. " Well Naruto, what do you have."

" This!" Naruto formed several hand seals, which resembled the shadow clone but with a change. A clone appeared besides him.

" That's the shadow clone." Kiba said, face blank.

" Not really. Jump in the lake." Naruto ordered the clone, who leapt into the water with a splash. It swum out a short distance. Naruto formed another hand seal. Hinata gasped in horror as the clone exploded in a fiery blast, sending a shockwave though the water.

" It's the Explosive Seal technique. I got it to work after a day, so I figured out how to combine it with my shadow clones. It's like having a limitless supply of explosive tags." Naruto said, grinning ear to ear. " We'll just call them explosive clones."

" Good. Now, for barbeque!" Asuma said cheerfully, leaping to his feet.

--- 

" Now, a few things you need to know about the exam." said Asuma when they had finished the meal. " First, the examiners can throw you out at any time for any reason."

" What?" said an astounded Naruto. " That's not fair!"

" That's the point. This is the hardest test you have ever taken. I'd like to tell you what to expect, but that's a no-no." Asuma said, sounding very unhappy with the restriction. " Now, second, you need to be in the exam room with this form by nine tomorrow. You can choose to take the exam or not. It doesn't effect anyone but you." Asuma said, handing them each a form. " Think about if your really sure you want to do this tonight and be at the academy by eight tomorrow. Kiba, head out extra early."

They all left the restaurant, Asuma saying goodbye. The three genin and the dog walked down the street together, talking.

" Well, I defiantly think I'm ready. I think you have to know a couple jutsu or something. That's why Asuma had us practice new techniques." Naruto said confidently.

" I just hope it's not a written test. I spent the entire week writing." Kiba complained, holding up his aching hand. They turned a corner and ran into two oddly dressed people. One was a boy several yeas older than them wearing a black bodysuit and a strange wrapped up thing on his back. He had a hat that made him look rather like a cat. The other was a girl with a giant fan on her back and large, poofy blonde hair. They had forehead protectors from the Sand village.

" Hey, watch it!" said the black clothed boy, shoving past Hinata. " I hate kids." he mumbled to himself.

" Hey!" Naruto said irately. " Watch were your going you jerk!" The boy turned and faced Naruto.

" You're a brave little kid, aren't you?" he said, walking to Naruto. He was a lot taller and larger. " I should kill you now."

" If you want a fight, you'll have to fight all of us." Kiba said, bearing his fangs. Akamaru growled and Hinata activated her Byakugan. The older genin looked at them then laughed. The boy began to take the bandaged thing off his back when the girl stopped him.

" Not now, Kankuro." she said, looking at the genin. " I don't think we want to kill three of the village's brat's before the test." Kankuro looked annoyed but shouldered the bandaged object. Behind them, appearing in a swirl of dust, stood a boy about their age with red hair and dark eyes.

" We should leave." said the boy. The others turned and followed him.

" Hey! Who are you guys?" Naruto shouted before they got to far.

" I'm Temari." said the girl, looking back. " These are my brothers Kankuro and Gaara. You should avoid us if you want to live." They departed after that.

" Man, what's with them?" asked Kiba.

" I believe they are here for the exam as well." said Hinata, deactivating her eyes. " Under the bandages Kankuro had some sort of puppet, and the gourd on Gaara's back contained sand."

" Huh." said Naruto.

" I think this may be more that a simple test." Hinata said, thinking deeply. " I believe we may have to fight someone as well."

" Well, I hope I get that Kankuro bastard then." said Naruto, cracking his knuckles.

--- 

The next day, all three genin met outside the academy.

" Kiba, why'd you bring all your stuff?" asked Naruto. Kiba had his scroll pack, which was stuffed full. " I don't think we'll need all that."

" Well, if we do, I've got everything. I got my best summon scrolls, weapon scrolls, supply scrolls, and food scrolls." said Kiba, looking over the rolled papers.

" What all do you have?" asked Naruto curiously.

" I got like a hundred shuriken, thirty kunai, some swords, a spear or two, and a dozen explosive tags." said Kiba, pointing to the scrolls in turn. " I have bandages, medicine, a tent, a fishing net, food for three weeks, summon scrolls for birds, squirrels, moths, and ninja dogs, two pre-lit fires, a map of the country, a compass, and spare clothes."

" Woah." said Hinata, Akamaru, and Naruto in unison.

" I have…three kunai…twelve shuriken…and…my clothes." Naruto said, checking his pack.

" I have two kunai, my medical pack, and two explosive tags. I also have one day's emergency rations." said Hinata checking her supplies.

" Well, good thing I'm here then!" said Kiba, beaming. " Let's head in." The genin entered the building and headed for the classroom.

They encountered a large group standing outside's of a door. There were two older looking genin blocking the door.

" You should all head home." said one. " This test is way to hard for you."

" Yeah. We're doing you a favor and saving you from embarrassment." said the other. Hinata focused. Something looked wrong about the hallway. She activated her Byakugan and saw the organized chakra forming the illusion.

" We're under a genjutsu." she said aloud. The genin all startled. In unison they calmed and broke the genjutsu, causing the two older genin to revert to adults and the hall to change, revealing they were at the wrong room.

" Good job, miss." said one of the two adults, writing something on a clipboard. " That's worth some extra credit down the line." The two men then vanished in a puff of smoke.

" I think the test already started." said Shikamaru. " How troublesome."

" But we aren't even in the classroom yet!" said an astounded Naruto. " That's not fair!"

" Yes, but Guy-sensei told us they would not be." said Lee, walking up. Naruto immediately tensed. " Naruto, I would like to apologise for how I treated you." said Lee.

" Okay!" Naruto said, accepting instantly and smiling.

" I would also like to say you are one of the people I wish to face in the exam." Lee said, getting his crazy glint back into his strange eyes. " My rival Neji, you, and your friend Sasuke are my targets."

" Eh heh heh." Naruto said, sweating nervously. He remembered how hard Lee kicked.

" I'd like to fight you too, Naruto." said Sasuke, walking past with his team. " It's always nice to have a easy fight."

Kiba and Hinata had to restrain Naruto.

Minutes later they arrived at the real classroom, where a number of jounin's were waiting. Asuma waved them over.

" Hey. Good to see you all showed up." said Asuma, smiling proudly. " Because I lied."

" Huh?" asked Akamaru.

" If you all don't show up, your team can't take the test. But if you aren't confident enough to show up, you have no business being a chunnin." Asuma said with a chuckle. " Well, get in. Things get a lot tougher from here on. Good luck." Asuma said, opening the door.

They walked into a large classroom full of genin in a large variety of clothing styles. Hinata could see they were from almost every country.

" Hey! Over here!" said Sakura, waving. The other three genin groups were standing by her. They walked over and joined them.

" I didn't know so many people would be here." said Naruto, looking around.

" Well, genin from all the countries come to participate, Naruto." said Sakura.

" Hey, does anyone have any chips?" asked Choji, shaking a empty bag. " I finished mine but I'm still pretty hungry."

" Aww, the baby's hungry?" said some genin in a Stone village headband. He noticed Naruto and narrowed his eyes for a moment.

" Baby?" said Choji, confused.

" Their refering to us as the Rookie 12. It's rare to get in the exam as early as we have. Most of them trained for years before their teachers would allow them to enter." said Neji in a brooding voice. " I understand we are rather unpopular with many of them because of this."

" Indeed." said a genin, walking up behind them. He wore a regular uniform and glasses, and had strange grey hair. " Your lack of experience could be a disadvantage. I'm Kabuto." said the ninja, introducing himself.

" Hi." said Naruto, waving.

" It might be a good idea for you to get a idea on who your up against." said Kabuto, taking out a pack of cards.

" Why are you helping us?" asked Sasuke suspiciously.

" You are from the Leaf." said Kabuto, explaining his actions. " I'd rather you were forewarned of your opponents so you have a better chance of succeeding. The more ninja from Kohona that pass and the less from other countries that pass, the stronger the village will be."

" Have you taken the exam before?" asked Ino.

" Yes." said Kabuto, grinning embarrassedly. " Six times. Something keeps going wrong. Last time didn't even get past the first test because I forgot to have my supplies with me."

Naruto began to sweat heavily.

" There are ninja from almost every country here." said Kabuto, setting a card down. There was a small flash and it revealed a map, showing the numbers of the ninja attending. " The Leaf has the most, with the Stone country and Sound country coming in second and third."

" Sound country?" asked Sakura.

" They are a new country. I don't think they will be much of a threat. The techniques used by the weaker countries are inferior to ours." Kabuto said, looking though his cards.

" Really?" said a ninja with the sound insignia on his head. He turned and walked over. His face was partially covered in bandages and he was heavily clothed. His arms hung strangely. " It's a rather stupid mistake to assume that we're weak." He swung his fist at Kabuto, who dodged. A moment later Kabuto collapsed to the ground and began to vomit. The Sound ninja prepared to attack again, but Sasuke grabbed his arm as a four clones flanked the ninja.

" Here." said Hinata, leaning over and sitting Kabuto back. She activated a medical jutsu which would calm is body, but Kabuto still looked highly disoriented.

" You are the last Uchiha." said the Sound ninja, struggling with Sasuke's hold on him. " You'll be a interesting opponent." Sasuke let go of him, and he stalked over to his allies.

The genin became aware that every Grass and Stone ninja was watching Naruto intently.

" What's going on?" Naruto asked as the clones vanished. A group of Stone ninja with umbrellas on their back and three Grass ninja with black suits like the ninja they had fought on the last mission were conversing and glancing towards Naruto.

" I'll check it out." said Ino. She held her hands together, then slumped over. A ninja by the two teams startled. She leaned in, listening for a minute, before shaking her head and recovering.

" Wow." said Ino, blinking. " Naruto, they're planning to take you down."

" Huh?" asked a confused Naruto.

" The Stone ninja were sent here to look for you, and the Grass ninja called you the 'Clone Ninja'." Ino said, standing up. " Apparently your famous."

" Really?" said Naruto, excited.

" Not a good type of famous, Naruto." said Shino in his deep voice. " It appears in addition to the Stone village's dislike of you, you can now count the Grass as your enemy."

" Heh. Like they have a chance against the future Hokage." Naruto said with a smirk.

" Find the seat with your name and sit down!" boomed a man they knew to be Ibiki, who entered dramatically. He was followed by a large number of examiners. Everyone raced to their seats, arriving quickly. Kiba was near the back, Hinata was on the left side, and to Naruto's misfortune, his was seated in the center of the front row. A paper and pencil was passed to everyone.

" The first part of the exam is a written test." said Ibiki. " It will test your knowledge and skills. You start with ten points. If you are caught cheating, you will lose two points. Each question you answer incorrectly will penalize you a point. If you drop below zero, your team will be removed. In one hour the last question will be provided. Begin!"

There was a rustle of papers as the genin all began.

_Figures._ thought Kiba as he looked over the first question. It looked impossible. You'd need to be as smart as Sakura to answer it. He looked though the rest. They all looked just as difficult.

" Hey, Akamaru. Check someone for answers." he whispered to the dog, who was reclining on his head. The dog nodded and began looking around.

_They want us to cheat._ thought Hinata, looking around. Usually if you were caught cheating you would fail. The amount of examiners watching them confirmed that. It was test of their information gathering skills.

The silence was broken when Naruto's intestines gurgled loudly.

" Oh…" he moaned, doubling over. Everyone near him leaned away. " Uh, can I go to the bathroom?" he asked.

" Yes, but a examiner will need to go with you." Ibiki said, nodding to one. Naruto jumped up and ran from the room, the examiner following behind.

--- 

" Finally." said Naruto as the diarrhea stopped. The hour for the test was almost up. " Sorry." he said apologetically to the disgusted looking examiner as he left the stall. The man lead him back to the room.

" Time is up!" shouted Ibiki as Naruto was led though the doors. He returned to his seat, panicking. He hadn't filled out any of the questions!

" Now, for the final question. However, I should warn you. If you get this one wrong, you fail. Get it right, however, and you pass." said Ibiki, picking up a piece of paper.

" Then what was the point of the test?" complained Temari.

" To weed out the people who weren't read for this question." said Ibiki. Hinata looked around. Almost half of the genin had been removed. " There is another catch to his question, however. If you get it wrong, you have to stay a genin forever."

" That's crap! What gives you the right to do that?" shouted Kiba. " There's people here who have taken the test before!"

" Yes, but I wasn't the examiner then." said Ibiki with a cruel smile. " However, if you leave now, you don't have to worry about the question. It might be a good idea. It'd be better to retake the exam then it would be to stay a genin forever, right?"

Everyone quailed under the thought. Several teams got up and left. Hinata felt very nervous. She didn't want to quit now, but if she got the question wrong and it was her fault Naruto could not become a chunnin, she could never forgive herself. She felt her hand begin to rise.

" That's pretty stupid." said Naruto. " I mean, there's genin from other countries here too. Are you going to force them to stay genin forever? You bluffing!" Naruto said as he sat back, putting his feet on the desk. There was a murmur though he room.

" I hate to say it, but Naruto's right." called Sakura. " I don't think he can really do that."

Ibiki laughed.

" Well, damn." he said. " I didn't expect this many of you to stay. You all pass!'

The genin all look dumbstruck.

" There is no tenth question. You just need to be willing risk taking it." Ibiki said, smiling viciously. " Now, the next…"

Before he could finish two kunai attached to a curtain flew though the window and a strangely dressed woman landed.

" I'm Anko, the examiner for the second part of this exam, the Forest of Death!" she proclaimed, taking a pose. " Follow me to the next exam!"

Eagerly leaving Ibiki and the classroom behind, the genin followed her out of the building.


	14. Chapter 14

" All right, maggots!" shouted Anko after the genin had assembled near the entrance to the Forest of Death. " The next section is a survival course. The forest here is ten kilometers of dangerous, dark woods. You an your team are going to be given either a Heaven or Earth scroll. You must get the scroll to the tower in the center, but you also need to get the scroll from another group. That means at least half of you will fail. You have five days to accomplish this test."

" Hey, this is like that group training." Kiba whispered to his teammates. Hinata could see the others of the Rookie Twelve had come to the same conclusion.

" You have ten minutes to fill out these forms and get yourself ready. I hope you brought supplies." said Anko, holding out a stack of papers.

" What are these?" asked Sakura.

" Legal forms. If you die in there, its not our fault." said Anko, smiling sweetly.

" What about food?" asked a concerned Choji.

" Oh, some of the monsters in the forest are edible. You'll need to forage." said Anko, taking out some dango and snacking on them.

" Everyone, over here." said Shikamaru, motioning to his team. Kakashi, Asuma, and Guy's teams walked over to the huddle. " I think we need to work together." he said when everyone was there.

" What?" asked Naruto. " Why?"

" Because of our training. It looks like the training sessions we all did together were planned around this test." Shikamaru explained. " That Kabuto guy also hinted it. I think he might be a examiner too."

They looked over to where Kabuto and his teammates were filling out their forms.

" If we all work together, we have a better chance of passing. It'll be easier to capture scrolls and defend ours. Also," Shikamaru said, looking grave. " Odds are that we won't all have the same scroll. If we can't find any by the last day, we'll have to fight amongst ourselves."

" Is that fair?" asked Lee.

" Look at the other teams." said Shikamaru. The genin gazed around. Most of the teams were meeting with another. The Stone and Grass teams they had noticed earlier were staring towards Naruto. " They all realized this too. Plus, Some of us are already marked. Taking down a Uchiha is a feat worth bragging about, so plenty of people will go after Sasuke. Naruto's got his enemies, and killing the heir of the Hyuuga clan would probably merit a promotion to chunnin for most foreign ninja. And, I think everyone can tell my team is pretty weak. They'll head for us."

" So you want protection." Naruto said, crossing his arms.

" Yes." Shikamaru said, standing up.

" I like the plan." said Ten-Ten. " Plus, if it goes bad, our teachers will probably reward us for that."

" Who agrees?" asked Shino. Everyone nodded. " Then we should fill out the forms, since there is one minute left."

The Kohona genin hurriedly filled out the paperwork.

Asuma's team was one of the first called up. They received a Heaven scroll, which Akamaru hid using the technique he had used before. Kiba took a blank scroll and disguised it as the Heaven Scroll, putting it on his backpack. They then rejoined the other genin.

" We'll all meet by the tower." said Shikamaru. " The password for identifying each other will be the color of Kurenai-sensei's eyes. Got it?" Naruto, Hinata, Akamaru, and Kiba nodded, then proceeded towards their gate.

---

" Man, I hope I have enough food." said Kiba.

" Why? You said you had three weeks worth." said Naruto, trying to calm his nerves. Hinata was sitting on the ground, trying to meditate in the Hyuuga stile.

" Well, yeah, but that's for me and Akamaru. I didn't expect to share with everyone AND Choji." Kiba said with a laugh.

" Oh." Naruto said, realizing the problems.

" Hey, I do have one thing, but it'll cost you." Kiba said, drawing a scroll out. " Hot ramen for twenty ryou."

" Wait, really?" Naruto said, eyeing the scroll.

" Yeah. I figured you'd want some in the field. It'll cost you, though." Kiba said, putting the scroll away. Naruto dug out his wallet and checked his money.

" Get ready!" Anko's voice called out. The genin sprang forward, readying themselves by the gate. The forest looked unnaturally dark and foreboding already, and they were still out in the sunlight. The trees had a gnarled, unnatural look and little light fell though their leaves. " Go!" yelled the examiner as the gates flew open.

They dove through and leapt onto the lower branches, skimming though the dark trees. Within moments it seemed like night.

" Hinata, keep checking with your Byakugan." Naruto called back. He had taken the lead position. " Kiba, if you even think you smell someone, tell us."

" Right, oh glorious leader!" shouted Kiba sarcastically as he leapt to a sturdy bough.

" Hey, I like that!" Naruto said as he fell though the air.

---

It had been nearly a half hour and they hadn't encountered anyone. They kept pressing on, maintaining a decent speed. They could see light ahead of them and came out upon a small river cutting though the forest.

" Lets take a break." whined Akamaru as he landed on the bank. " I need some water."

" Okay. I'll keep watch." Naruto said, forming a team of clones and sending them to form a perimeter.

Moments later there was a rustling in the trees.

" It looks like Sasuke's team!" called back a clone. The three genin came into view and stopped.

" What color are…" Naruto began to ask before Sasuke cut him off.

" Red." Sasuke said, walking over. " Did your group encounter anyone?"

" No." said Hinata, standing up.

" I placed bugs on all the genin while we filled out the forms. If they come near us I will be able to sense them." said Shino.

" Uh, cool." said Naruto. " Um…are there any bugs on me?"

" Yes. It is hiding in your hair. Please do not harm it." said Shino impassively. " This river is poor defensive terrain. We should move away."

" Smart boy." Everyone turned on the strange voice and spotted a genin in a straw hat and long white robes standing near them. She was wearing a Grass village headband. " Unfortunately, Your too late to do that."

" Hinata!" Naruto shouted. Hinata was already on it and had activated her Byakugan, scanning around for others.

" She's alone, and she's very powerful. She has chakra reserves like yours, Naruto." Hinata reported. Everyone backed away, forming a circle around the woman.

" Hello there, Sasuke-kun." said the woman in a unpleasant tone. " I'm glad it didn't take me too long to find you. I'm quite busy."

" Stay away from Sasuke-kun! He's mine!" Sakura yelled angrily. Sasuke's eye twitched, but he didn't disagree for once.

" Really? Well, you may be losing him soon." said the Grass ninja before breaking into a charge. She ran towards Sakura at a high speed. Kiba and Akamaru leapt to intercept her, but she blocked with uncanny precision, sending them flying back. They landed with a snarl.

" Everyone, back away!" shouted Sasuke before forming a hand seal. Everyone dodged away as he breathed a massive fireball at where the woman had been a second before. She dodged away nimbly, landing by Sakura. However, the pink haired girl had already began a genjutsu and finished as the woman turned towards her.

" Ooo, that some talent. I almost have to try to break this one. My compliments." said the woman. Sakura's eyes slid out of focus and she fell back heavily. " You should make it harder to reverse next time."

Hinata raced forward to help, jutting forward a well aimed Jyuuken strike. The grass ninja blocked her arm in a unusual way, avoiding the chakra entirely. Hinata was send off balance for a moment, but spun with another chakra spike at the woman. The grass ninja ducked backwards, avoiding the hit, as a cloud of insects enveloped her. There was a puff of smoke, however, and she disappeared.

" Ow." said Sakura, sitting up. " She's really, really good with genjutsu. Better than Kurenai-sensei."

" Her taijutsu's like Lee's." said Kiba, scanning the trees. " You won't be able to fight her at hand to hand normally."

" We'll need a lot of clones, then." said Naruto forming the jutsu. A platoon appeared and spread out though the trees.

BAM.

The ground under Naruto exploded as the woman flew upwards, delivering a knockout blow. The real Naruto went tumbling backwards while the clones raced to attack the woman. They dove for her, but she performed a jutsu and shot dozes of snakes from her sleeves, striking the clones and destroying them.

Sasuke charged from behind, landing a kick which the woman barely rolled away from. Sharingan active he met the woman in hand to hand combat, aiming several fast punches at her head. She blocked and countered with a chop Sasuke was only able to avoid because of the Sharingan. He rolled under and came upwards, delivering a series of uppercuts which launched her into the air. He leapt upwards and bounced off a branch, coming down quickly and catching the woman in a piledriver and crashing her headfirst into the ground. She was partially buried and stopped moving. Sasuke headed over to the other genin. Before he got all the way, however, the woman's head shot from the ground by him on a snakelike neck and bit down on his neck.

" You really are a prodigy." said the woman as she retracted her head into the ground and leapt up. Sasuke fell to the ground and screamed, clutching the bite. " Such taijutsu abilities at your age are beyond what I had hoped."

" Your intelligence gathering needs work then." said Shino, launching a cloud of bugs at the woman. She laughed and leapt over, then raced towards Shino for an attack. He blocked a kick and a punch, but those were fients to open his defenses and he was battered to the ground. The bugs swarmed over , forcing the grass ninja to leave Shino. They herded her towards the other genin.

Having completed the Beast Clone, Kiba and Akamaru launched forward in the arcing Piercing Fang attack while Hinata raced up the flank, forcing the woman to fight on two fronts. She dodged two Jyuuken strikes and Kiba, but Akamaru's attack grazed her, sending her flying into a tree. Before she could recover Kiba and Akamaru shot forward in a devastating twin attack, striking the ninja and blasting the tree apart. As the dust cleared Kiba and Akamaru stumbled backwards.

" Not quite as good as Sasukee…." the woman began, sitting up from the debris. She didn't finish, however, as Sasuke landed behind her and grabbed her head, violently and forcefully snapping her neck. She slumped down and reverted to a pile of mud.

" Dammit." mumbled Sasuke, walking over wearily. " Hinata, could you check this out?" he asked, motioning to his neck before collapsing to his knees. Hinata raced over while the others formed a perimeter around the injured Sasuke and Naruto stumbled to his feet, folding his jaw gingerly.

Hinata looked at the wound and gasped. The scar had transformed into a simple black mark, looking like three spinning dots. Kiba leaned over.

" Holy shit." Kiba said, examining it. " He put some sort of curse on you, and its nasty."

" What does it do?" Sasuke said weakly. Hinata lay him down.

" I have no idea, but this things insanely powerful. That's the seal of Heaven. You can't use that without a hell of a lot of protective seals and wards because its so powerful. But it's just sitting on you neck without anything." explained Kiba. Sasuke didn't reply.

" Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried, grabbing her downed teammate. Sasuke had gone completely comatose.

" Don't worry. He will be fine." said the woman, reappearing.

" What did you do to Sasuke!" shouted Naruto furiously.

" Nothing you should concern yourself with. You know, you're the only member of this group that went down in a single hit? Even that silly pink haired girl managed to recover." said the woman, smiling viciously.

" Who are you?" asked Shino curiously.

" My name is Orochimaru." said the woman with a bow.

" Orochimaru, you are about to die." said Shino, a rare vengeful tone entering his voice. A massive cloud of bugs began to issue forth from his coat as Naruto threw off his jacket and formed a legion of clones. The chakra output began to char his shirt.

" Oh, this will be fun. I hope Sasuke-kun doesn't mind me playing with his friends." said Orochimaru, leaning her head back. There was a retching sound and a scroll emerged from her mouth. She took it, then made the retching sound again. A snake shot out , which opened its mouth and spar out a sword. She caught it and wiped her arm on her sleeve.

" I'll give you my scroll if you entertain me." she said, putting it into her pocket and charging. Forty shadow clones charged in. The woman began to happily slash her way though them while the cloud of bugs began to swarm her. There was a puff of smoke and she appeared outside of the melee, charging for Shino and Naruto. A sea of clones intercepted her and despite her prodigious skill with the sword she was swept down under the orange mass. The cloud of Shino's bugs worked their way into the mass, which was beating Orochimaru furiously, and began to drain her chakra.

A tower of stone shot forward from the mass, propelling Orochimaru into the air and scattering the clones and bugs. She breathed in and shot out a cloud of gas, which enveloped the mass of clones and bugs. The clones began to choke and disappear while the bugs fled back into the safety of Shino.

As she fell to the ground Hinata and Sakura raced to intercept her. Sakura prepared a new genjutsu and activated it, hoping to distract Orochimaru long enough for Hinata to get an attack off. Orochimaru dispelled the genjutsu almost immediately, but the second it took was long enough.

As she got close Hinata channeled the chakra for the Divine Sixty Four Strikes. The forest became even darker and the once untouchably fast ninja was now moving laughably slow. Hinata launched a furious storm of Jyuuken strikes into her, sealing the woman's chakra points and rupturing a number of internal organs. The techniques force slammed the woman into a tree, which splintered under the impact.

However, as if she was unhurt, she punched Hinata in the gut with enough force to send her flying fifteen meters into the brush.

" Hinata!" cried Naruto, racing over. Sakura stood in front of Orochimaru with a kunai, blocking the path to Hinata as Naruto raced over to check her. Hinata sat up weakly, coughing, before vomiting from the pain.

" That was very good. Talent like that, you'll both make jounin." cooed Orochimaru. " The bug user and Inuzuka are also quite talented."

" Stay back." Sakura said, a quaver of fear in her voice.

" Hinata, are you okay?" asked Naruto, helping her up. Hinata nodded and activated the Heavenly Palm technique, holding it to her midsection. She relaxed as the healing effects began.

" Aw, shit!" yelled Kiba. Naruto looked up. Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru were now faced with a giant snake. Sasuke lay motionless nearby. Kiba and Akamaru leapt in Piercing Fang attacks, connecting but barely penetrating the armored scales while Shino's bugs latched on the snake, draining it's chakra rapidly. It bit downwards, forcing Shino to dodge away and grab Sasuke. Shino retreated with his fallen comrade while Kiba and Akamaru battered the snake backwards.

" Sakura, help Hinata-chan away." Naruto said, leaping in front of Orochimaru. " I'll hold him off." Sakura nodded and helped Hinata up before leading her away.

" Hinata-chan?" Oh ho ho, you have a girlfriend." said Orochimaru, circling Naruto. " How sweet. It's rather romantic, taking the exam with your girlfriend. What's next, a visit to her at the morgue after the silly girl dies?"

More consciously this time, Naruto felt the energy he had felt in the Stone country return. Everything became tinted red as he flipped backwards, landing and dashing forward with blurring speed. Orochimaru was barely able to dodge to the side as Naruto charged her. Naruto grabbed the woman's arm, dug in his sharpening finger nails, and pulled with his chakra enhanced strength. There was a sickening sucking sound at he ripped the arm from the socket. He spun in place, swinging the arm like a sword. It struck Orochimaru in the head, sending flying though a tree.

" You must be the demon boy!" said Orochimaru, getting to her feet. Naruto noticed her face seemed partially ripped away, revealing a more masculine countenance under it. She brushed her remaining hand over her face for a moment, causing it to revert back. " I had never expected you! You really managed to rip off my arm. That is no easy feat."

" That's just the beginning." said Naruto leaping forward with lightning speed. He punched at Orochimaru with all his might, but the woman deflected his arm and sent him spinning away. He landed gracefully and charged. However, before he got all the way she leapt forward and delivered a crushing kick to his head. He could feel his spine snapping and as he tumbled backwards he realized he could see his back.

He landed and rolled a short distance. He felt himself losing consciousness for a moment, but his head suddenly turned back around. He could feel his spine healing. However, the injury left him paralyzed for the moment.

" I'm sorry, I'd love to stay longer. I'm sure you could entertain me for a while longer, but I must be going. My compliments, however. I don't think even Sasuke-kun could have hurt me like this." said Orochimaru before disappearing in whirl of leaves. In the spot where she had been lay a Earth scroll.

Slowly, Naruto felt the chakra fade and his body regain feeling. He stumbled to his feet, pocketed the scroll, and walked in the direction his allies had fled. He found them a short distance away, taking cover in a small copse.

" Hey." he said as he trotted up. Hinata and Sakura seemed to be tending to Sasuke, Kiba was bandaging his arm, and Shino was standing guard. Hinata looked up towards him happily, but her face drained of color.

" Naruto-kun, your head!" she said, racing over.

" What?" asked Naruto, not understanding. Hinata gingerly grasped his neck, and he realized it felt wrong.

" It's not on straight." said Kiba.

" I remember Iruka-sensei making a similar assessment." Shino said. Everyone but Sakura looked at him, surprised by the joke. " I had heard that a tense situation can be lessened by humor. My apologies if it was poorly timed or inappropriate. I do not have much practice with them."

" I thought the Orochimaru chick was weird, but Shino telling a joke? That's just freaky." said Kiba with a laugh.

" Here." said Hinata forming the Heavenly Palm. She held it to Naruto's neck and he could feel things shifting. Suddenly his neck popped and things shifted back to normal. " There you are, Naruto-kun. Where is Orochimaru?"

" She ran off after she snapped my neck." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. " I guess she didn't to it right. I ripped her arm off, so I don't think she'll be back for a while."

" I belive she was toying with us." said Shino. " She left more likely because she was finished. I have heard the name Orochimaru mentioned before. She is said to be one of the greatest ninja ever."

" What would she want with Sasuke-kun?" said Sakura, staring at her downed boyfriend. Tears were running down her cheeks.

" I do not know. It is also odd, because I believed that Orochimaru was a man." Shino said.

" Part of her face got ripped off and it looked like a mans was under it." remembered Naruto. The others nodded.

" We are lucky to be alive." Hinata said, sitting down. " It's nearing night, so we should set up here for the night and make camp. I have your jacket, Naruto-kun." Hinata pulled the jacket out.

" Thanks, Hinata-chan!" he said as he donned the orange jacket. " I'll send a bunch of clones out on watch."

" Send some to find the other teams as well." suggested Shino. Naruto formed the clones, who all sped away on their missions.

---

It was a rough, tense night. Everyone took turns sleeping and keeping watch, except for Sakura, who stayed by Sasuke the entire time. Sasuke seemed to be ill, tossing and turning. The red sunlight began to filter down onto the river when one of the clones on guard was destroyed by a blast of air.

" Thes sumon har." Naruto said, waking up groggily. " Theres someone here!"

The others sprung awake.

" We need to intercept them. If there was a fight here, Sasuke would likely be hurt. Sakura, guard Sasuke. Naruto, give her some clones. Everyone else, follow me." commanded Shino. " I can sense the bugs on them."

The genin complied with the orders and raced in the direction Shino headed. They encountered the three Sound genin a short distance away. Naruto formed a platoon of clones which surrounded the Sound ninja, which put their backs to each other so they could face in every directions.

" Greetings." said the leader of the Sound genin, the masked one with the strange arms. " We are here to kill the Uchiha. Step aside or die."

" Heh." Kiba chuckled. " Your already a outnumbered and surrounded. How do you expect to win?" he asked in a gloating voice.

" You are also surrounded." came a voice from behind. In every direction came the clumsy mud clones of the Grass ninja.

" So, explain to me, why are you working with them?" Naruto asked, turning to face the new attackers.

" They were going after a ally of yours you were obviously going to meet with." explained one mud clone.

" We recognized you from the description a survivor of a recent battle gave our village before dying. Kohona's Clone Ninja, also wanted by our allies in the Stone village. There is a notable bounty on you, but we are in it for the honor of our clone brigades."

" Were here for the money." Everyone looked up. On the branches above were the three stone ninja, who were holding the umbrellas like weapons. " The son of the Yellow Flash, the monster which gorged himself on a platoon of our ninja, will be a impressive trophy to present to our village."

" What's with this Yellow Flash thing? I'm a orphan. I don't know who my parents were, but I don't think it's this flasher guy." Naruto said with a pout.

" Stop faking. We know the Fourth was your father. Our spies were able to discover this after we learned of your existence." said the leaded Stone genin with a smirk. Naruto blinked at him.

" You guys really must suck. Do you think for a minute if I was the Fourth's son, he would have sealed the Nine Tailed Fox in me, or that the villagers would have hated me?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

" A demon as well? Your quite the prize." said the Stone ninja, smirking evilly.

" He's no demon." said a voice behind the Stone ninja, startling him. Sasuke had appeared behind him, with some sort of black marks covering his skin. Hinata could see Sakura in the highest branches, preparing a genjutsu.

" This is quite the standoff." remarked the leader of the Sound genin.

" Summoning Technique!" shouted Kiba, forcing his hand to the ground. Three large, vicious hounds appeared. Akamaru bounded onto Kiba's back and a second later the Beast Clone jutsu activated.

" Five way Piercing Fang!" shouted Kiba, as he, Akamaru, and the three ninja dogs shot in five directions, tearing though trees and mud clones.

Then, things went absolutely crazy.

As Sasuke began to wail on one of the Stone ninja with even more power that usual, the others threw up several umbrellas, which opened in midair and began to spin, showering needles downwards. Naruto formed a platoon of clones which raced to combat the mud clones, ripping though them. He created a dozen explosive clones which ran towards the mud clones and detonated, sending flaming debris though the air and scattering everyone.

The Sound genin ducked as one of them spun, shooting a jet of air from his palms which scattered the clones. However, Hinata landed in the middle of them, jabbing the standing ninja with Jyuuken strikes and knocking him back. The leader of the Sound genin swung a punch at her, but she leapt away, avoiding the attack. A moment later she keeled over in pain, struck by a wave of sound. The female sound genin tried to charge her but was separated by a hail on needles.

A cloud of bugs issued from Shino and sped off past the encircling mud clones. He then charged towards the female sound ninja, fighting her with taijutsu.

Above the Stone ninja had rallied and were facing Sasuke together, but he was moving with impossible speed. They were keeping him at bay with a needles, and after one struck his legs he began to slow. Sakura completed her genjutsu, however, and Sasuke disappeared. The Stone ninja turned their attention to her for a second, and a concealed Sasuke came racing in to deliver a series of crushing strikes. The leader leapt away, landing on another branch. He took out another umbrella and raced towards where Sakura was hidden.

Below, the mud clones were being overwhelmed. The endless tide of shadow clones and explosive clones had pushed them back, and every few moments one of the tornado like Piercing Fang attacks would strike, destroying several. The real Naruto had began to form his own mud clones to take on the stronger of the Grass ninja's mud clones. A short distance away, however, the real Grass ninja were under assault by Shino's bugs, one having been drained into unconsciousness already.

Dodging the randomly flying needles, Hinata and the leader of the Sound genin were facing each other, waiting for the chance to strike. If Hinata connected with her Jyuuken she would win, but the sound wave that followed the ninja's punch was too hard to dodge and would leave her dazed and open for a lethal strike. The other male Sound genin had recovered and began blasting at Kiba as he whirled around, trying to land a Piercing Fang hit on the dangerous opponent.

Shino and the female Sound ninja had been locked in a rather unimpressive taijutsu match, attacking and parrying with each other, but Shino had latched on the last of his bugs to her and was merely biding his time until she was too weak to fight back. She took out a needle with bells on it and threw it. The needle landed in a tree by Shino and embedded itself. She pulled on a wire attached to the bells, and Shino stopped, trapped in a genjutsu.

Back above, Sakura was dodging desperate, vicious hails of needles from the leader of the Stone ninja. She was able to keep a safe distance away, but he wasn't letting up and she didn't have time to form a genjutsu. Throwing caution to the wind, she landed on a branch and leapt towards her pursuer, drawing a kunai. It midair they collided, Sakura stabbing him with a kunai in the chest, he slamming a handful on needles into her back. Their momentum lost they began to fall downwards, locked in combat. Moments before they struck something whizzed past them, ripping Sakura away from the Stone ninja's grasp.

" Are you all right?" asked Sasuke as he landed, setting her down. Sakura pulled the needles out of her back, wincing. Sasuke had a half crazed look on his face but seemed in control.

" I am." Sakura said, standing up. One of the needles had struck a nerve and she could barely move her right arm.

" Stay here." Sasuke commanded, running back towards the combat.

" Like hell." she muttered under her breath, grabbing her kunai from the dead stone ninja and sneaking towards the mud clones.

" I'm out of chakra!" complained Kiba as he struck his last arc of the Piercing Fang.

" I've got some more!" barked Akamaru.

" Yeah, you didn't summon anything." said Kiba as he punched a mud clone hard enough to cause it to revert. The ninja dogs had also run out of chakra for the Piercing Fang and were biting and tearing though the mud clones. There was a explosion nearby as a explosive clone took out a cache of mud clones.

" Watch it!" Kiba yelled to Naruto, diving out of the was of the debris. He winced as two needles struck him. Most of the spinning umbrella's seemed to have been spent, but one was still whirring away. Kiba grabbed a kunai in a mound of mud and threw it upwards, cutting though the umbrella, which fell uselessly to the ground.

" Got you!" shouted the leader of the Sound genin, lunging as Hinata stumbled on a root. She took a breath as she tripped and focuses, expelling chakra from every point she could manage. She began to spin around, forming a inconsistent blue barrier around herself. The Sound ninja slammed into the Heavenly Spin and was send hurtling into a rock, which cracked from the impact. Hinata stopped the technique, slowing her spin and regaining her balance.

" Got you!" cried the female Sound ninja, brandishing a kunai and charging Shino. She swung, however, Shino sidestepped and dodged the attack. A cloud of bugs began to fly towards them.

" It appears the Grass ninja have been defeated." he said as the bugs swarmed her, draining her chakra. She fell to the ground heavily. Shino leaned against a tree, panting. He had barely broken then genjutsu in time to dodge. The bugs slowly returned to him, sated on chakra for the moment.

" Down you go!" shouted a shadow clone as he finished off one of the last mud clones. The squads of shadow clones were cleaning up the last remnants of resistance when Sasuke landed by them.

" Hey, what happened to you?" asked Naruto, looking at the tattoo like marks covering Sasuke.

" I don't know…but whatever Orochimaru did to me, it's given me more power." Sasuke said, looking at his arms and flexing his hands. Suddenly, the marks retracted, returning to the original shape. Sasuke nearly toppled over fro exhaustion, but a clone caught him and set him down.

" Everyone, get the scrolls from them and form up!" shouted Naruto. Moments later everyone had assembled away from the battlefield. " What scrolls to we have?" he asked.

" Two Heaven scrolls and an Earth scroll." said Sakura, holding them up.

" Orochimaru gave me a Earth scroll because I was entertaining." said Naruto, holding it out.

" We needed an Earth scroll as well, so hopefully the other teams will need the Heaven scrolls. The probability is good." said Shino, adjusting his glasses. " At the moment, I believe tending to our wounds and moving away from here would be wise."

" Lets move down the river, away from the tower." said Sasuke, standing up. " People will probably look for us closer to the tower."

The genin headed down the river for ten minutes, walking in the water to cover their tracks. They found a large, vine covered rock outcropping that leaned over the river. Pushing aside the vines revealed a small space, hidden by the vines from view and large enough to fit them. They enter and set down their gear.

" I'll begin healing, but my chakra is low. After that I will use my medicines." said Hinata, activating her medical jutsu. The others began to remove needles and bandage cuts. Naruto was uninjured, save for a aching head from the pummeling Orochimaru had given him, so he kept watch.

They rested for several hours in the slightly damp cover. Kiba and Akamaru went to sleep immediately, having completely exhausted their chakra reserves. When everyone's wounds were treated Hinata lay down to rest as well. Sasuke was forcing himself to keep awake, even though he looked exhausted. Sakura was flexing her arm as the feeling returned.

" I'm hungry." said Naruto.

" Well, we didn't bring any food either." said Sakura.

" Wait a moment." said Naruto, rifling though Kiba's scrolls and finding one of the food scrolls. " Uh, do you guys know how to activate these?" Naruto asked, handing it to Sakura. She opened the scroll and brushed her hand against the seal, activating it with chakra. There was a puff of smoke and several cans on dog food appeared.

" Hey!" said Kiba, sitting up. " That's Akamaru's. Give it back." Sakura handed the scroll to Kiba sheepishly. He quickly resealed several of the cans, but he kept one out and opened it for Akamaru, who began to eat happily. Kiba took out another scroll and unrolled it. There was a puff of smoke as several bowls of ramen, a plate covered in steak, and a jug of water appeared. Sasuke's team looked amazed.

" Lucky!" Naruto said, grabbling one of he bowls of ramen. " Hey Kiba, where's the chopsticks?"

" Aw, crap. I knew I forgot something." Kiba said, looking over the scroll.

" That's okay. We got these!" said Naruto, holding up two needles. He wiped them on his sleeve and dug in.

" Great idea!" Kiba said, grabbing a pair himself.

Sakura, Shino, and Sasuke looked on in disgust while Hinata simply giggled at her teammates.

---

They rested until evening before heading out. The didn't feel fully recovered yet, but they needed to move out. They proceeded towards the tower, staying a short distance from the river. Hinata kept on the lookout with her Byakugan and Shino kept alert for the scent of his bugs. They came to the edge of the forest by the tower. There was a nearly forty meters of open terrain between them and the tower. There was sign's of several battles, but they didn't find any bodies. Near midnight Hinata spotted Shikamaru and the others huddled around a concealed campfire.

" Hey." said Naruto, landing by them. Neji had his Byakugan active, so everyone had been aware of their prescense.

" What color are Kurenai-sensei's eyes?" asked Shikamaru, lazily.

" Red." Sasuke said as Naruto fumbled with the answer.

" What happened to you guys?" asked Ten-Ten.

" We got attacked by the Sound guys, the Stone ninja after Naruto, and Grass ninja." said Kiba , taking a seat. " They teamed up on us, but we kicked their ass."

" Lee and Ten-Ten took some Lightning genin by surprise and beat them, so we have a Earth scroll if you need it. We've fought a couple other groups, but they got away. We had to run away from Gaara a few times. He's uses some technique to protect himself with sand. We think Neji may have hurt him with a Jyuuken strike, though." said Shikamaru, holding up the scroll.

" We're fine." said Sakura, holding out the two Heaven scrolls. " You guys need these?"

" Not as much as I need something to eat." whined Choji, holding his stomach. Kiba took out the food scroll and summoned a bag of chips, which he handed to Choji. Choji looked at the chips for a moment before crushing Kiba in a hug, thanking him over and over. There was a popping sound.

" Those were my ribs." Kiba gasped. Everyone laughed.

" Right, we need to get to the tower as fast as we can. Most of the other teams that are left are patrolling this area, so the longer we stay the more like it is we will get attacked and can lose a scroll. We have to go in our assigned gates, though, so it'll be hard to not attract their attention. Naruto, make as many clones as you can and send them running around the tower. In a few minutes most of the teams will be paying attention to them and we can get in." said Shino, standing up. Naruto nodded and formed fifty clones, which ran off along the tree lines.

Several tense minutes of hearing yells and fights, Shikamaru motioned for everyone to go. Each of the teams raced into the clearing, heading for their gates. They noticed several other ninja running into the open towards them as well. One group, however, was heading for the tower. It was Kabuto's team, which appeared to be using them as cover. The genin teams began fighting though their attackers while racing for the tower. Naruto and Kabuto's groups went for gates next to each other. A moment before Kabuto's team got to the doors, however, Kabuto stumbled on a rock and fell.

" Go!" shouted Naruto, racing towards the fallen leaf ninja. A ninja in a grey cloak with a Lighting village insignia began to bear down at Kabuto, who was fumbling for his glasses. He found them a moment before the Lighting ninja stuck him with a sword and rolled out of the way of the attack. He ninja slashed at him again, forcing him backwards, but before the Lighting ninja could react Naruto landed a flying kick to his back, sending him crumpling to the ground.

" Thanks." said Kabuto, smiling to Naruto. " Watch out!" Kabuto pointed out a pair of Lightning ninja's charging them, tossing shuriken as they advanced. Naruto and Kabuto leapt out of the path of the attacks and charged. Naruto formed a group of clones which tackled the ninja he was facing while Kabuto formed chakra onto his hand and swiped the other. The ninja recoiled, bearing a large slash on he chest. He retreated.

" See ya inside!" said Naruto waving and running towards his team. Kabuto waved back and joined his teammates.

Inside they found a empty, dark hall. There was some sort of scroll hanging on the wall.

" So, do we open them now?" asked Kiba as Akamaru coughed up the Heaven scroll and Hinata took out the Earth scroll.

" I think so." said Hinata, laying the scrolls down and unrolling them. As she did there was a blast of smoke, which parted to reveal Iruka.

" Hey, great job!" he said, congratulating them. " The instructors and other jounin's have been watching you. You guys did a incredible job."

" Really?" said Naruto eagerly. " So you guys saw all our fights?"

" Well, not all." said Iruka, rubbing the back of his head. " The Hokage is the only one who knows the spying technique and we had to watch all the groups. We saw you guys and Sasuke's team fight the others, though, and other parts. How'd you guys get so beat up before that fight?" he asked.

" We fought someone called Orochimaru." said Kiba setting down his pack.

" Not likely." said Iruka with a laugh. " Orochimaru is wanted by the village. He wouldn't dare try coming here and risking a fight with the Third. It was someone claiming to be Orochimaru."

" Well, she was still pretty tough." said Kiba, pouting.

" Sometimes individuals about genin level get in, like the Rookie Twelve. Most of you are chunnin level." Iruka said before pointing to a door. " Head in there and get some rest. It's a couple days until the next part of the exam, so you'll need it."

" All right!" said Naruto, walking towards the door tiredly.

---

After a examination by the medic-nin and proper medical treatment, the genin collapsed in the beds provided for them.

Hinata was the first to wake up. She sat up, yawned, and stretched. The sunlight was pouring in the rooms windows, and it looked like it was nearly noon. She got out of bed and walked into the hall, looking for the bathroom. The hall was a empty grey corridor which curved out of sight. She walked along the hall. Though the doors she spotted other genin teams resting, some asleep, some awake. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Neji's teams had gotten though, as had Kabuto's and Gaara's. As she walked past the door to the Sand ninja's room Kankuro saw and glared at her. She sped her pace up and eventually came upon the women's room.

When she had finished and washed the grime from her face she emerged and began to look around the tower. It was a fairly simple building, with a large dojo in the center surrounded by the rooms the teams rested in. She found a number of Leaf ninja on guard and medics. Shortly after she had finished looking around the team of Sound genin limped in, the leader carrying ninja who had shot the wind blasts from his hands on his back. They had obtained two scrolls and turned them in. The medic's began to tend their wounds.

Hinata returned to her teams room. Naruto and Kiba were still fast asleep, snoring loudly. Akamaru had moved into her bed and was smiling smugly. Hinata scratched his ear as she walked past, then began to study a medical scroll.

A while later Asuma came into the room loudly, waking everyone.

" Hey! Way to go, everyone!" said Asuma leaning against the doorframe. Naruto and Kiba sat up, rubbing the sleep from their eyes. "

" Hey, sensei." said Kiba with a yawn. He looked around for Akamaru, looking concerned. " Have you seen…"

" Over there." said Hinata, pointing to the snoozing puppy.

" Well, you have the rest of the day off." said Asuma. " You can't leave the tower or anything, so just relax."

" What are we supposed to do?" asked Naruto.

" I don't know. I'm borrowing some books from Kakashi. See you guys tomorrow morning. I'll wake you before the next exam. Bye." Asuma disappeared in a cloud of smoke before anyone could protest.

" So…what do you want to do?" Kiba asked Akamaru. Akamaru rolled over, wrapping the blankets around himself. " Good idea." said Kiba, going back to sleep.

" We'll, I want to see the other teams. You coming, Hinata?" asked Naruto, hopping out of bed.

" I will stay here." said Hinata, giving Naruto a smile. " I want to practice this technique."

" Suit yourself." said Naruto, walking into the hall. He didn't get too far before he cam face to face with a waiting Gaara.


	15. Chapter 15

" Uh, hey." said Naruto. Gaara stood there, staring at him, arms folded. The boys dark clothes and eyes, blood red hair, and strange demeanor made Naruto somewhat nervous. He had learned people like this were usually trouble.

" I hear you are quite strong." Gaara said, breaking his silence.

" Yeah, I am!" Naruto said confidently. Gaara continued his unblinking stare.

" I look forward to proving that I am stronger." Gaara said in a threatening tone. " I will kill you and validate my existence."

" Heh. Like you can beat the future Hokage." Naruto said, staring back at Gaara. The pale boy turned slowly and stalked down the corridor. When he was out of sight Naruto let out a sigh. Gaara had scared him pretty well with his act. Naruto hoped he got to put him in his place soon.

" Well, how unfortunate for you." said a female voice behind him. He turned and spotted Temari standing there, leaning on her fan. " Gaara wants to kill everybody, but with all the talk we've heard about the Clone Ninja, he's really going to go for you." She smiled a fake sweet smile.

" Well, I promise not to hurt your little brother too much when I kick his ass." Naruto said boldly. Temari laughed.

" Like you could. I bet I could take you, and he's way stronger than I am." Temari said with a confident smirk.

" Hey, I'm trying to sleep." Shikamaru called out, poking his head though a doorway. " If you two could keep your troublesome flirting down, I'd appreciate it."

" Flirting? With him?" Temari said, looking at Naruto and laughing. " What do you think I'd see in this brat?"

" Well, he's blonde, so he won't mind your ugly, spiky hair." said Shikamaru, pulling his head back in and shutting the door. Temari looked like she wanted to shout out, but stormed away, cursing under her breath.

---

It was the day of the next exam, and the genin had been assembled in the central chamber. There were a number of jounin present as well as the Hokage, Anko, and a man who looked very ill.

" We will now begin the third section of the examination." said the Hokage, striding forward and puffing on his pipe. " You have undoubtedly been told that this exam pits ninja against all countries against each other for the sake of cooperation. This is a lie." said the Hokage, giving the genin a glance even Gaara must have felt unsteady under. For a instant the old man radiated incredible power, but just as quickly as it had appeared the aura vanished, leaving a tired looking old man.

" Well, what is it then?" asked Naruto impatiently.

" A war." said the Hokage. " A war between the countries for status. The finals of the exam are held before a crowd of nobles and politicians from all the countries. The country that impresses them the most will get more contracts and become stronger, while the others will wither and become weak, succumbing to their enemies."

" Before the finals, however, we must eliminate half of you. There can be only ten finalists." said the Hokage.

" But there's twenty one of us." said Sakura, looking around.

" True. One of you will have to fight two opponents." said the Hokage. Naruto and Lee looked excited and the prospect. " We will now begin the matches, which are picked at random." The aged man motioned to a display board. Names began to flash on it, stopping on Naruto and Yoroi, one of Kabuto's teammates. The others walked onto the raised sides of the chamber to watch.

" Well, at least this will be quick." said Yoroi, entering a readied pose. The sick man walked over and waved a flag, signaling the matches beginning.

Yoroi dove forwards, grabbing onto Naruto's arm before Naruto could form any clones. He held tightly, not letting go. Naruto struggled for a moment.

" What are you doing?" asked Naruto, trying to pull his arm away.

" My technique drains chakra. In a few moments your reserve will be completely drained and you'll collaspe." said Yoroi.

He looked around as the genin from Guy, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma began to laugh.

" Oh, hey, I think I can feel it." said Naruto, concentrating on his chakra flow. " Are you sure its working right?" Naruto asked. Yoroi looked at the small boy in confusion. He should have been near death from chakra exhaustion.

" Here. I'll help." Naruto said, grabbing Yoroi's wrist so he couldn't let go. As Yoroi looked on in disbelief, Naruto began to flex his arm, forcing more chakra into Yoroi's palms. A few seconds later smoke began to rise from his arms and he cried out in pain as they lit on fire. He fell backwards, trying to extinguish the flames.

" Naruto has more chakra that anyone." called Kiba as the medic-nin rushed over and began to help the defeated ninja. " There's no way you could drain it all." Naruto walked up the stairs and joined his friends on the platform, grinning triumphantly. The foreign genin other than Gaara looked worried.

The display board began to whirr and a few moments later Sasuke and Zaku were selected. The Uchiha walked down the stairs with his usual slouch. The Sound genin raced down eagerly. He appeared to be suffering from a number of partially healed injuries from their fight two days ago.

" I was hoping to get to fight someone worthwhile." said Sasuke, looking to Zaku, who ground his teeth under the insult. The examiner begun the match.

Zaku raised his palms towards Sasuke and fired a blast of high powered wind at him, but Sasuke had already activated his Sharingan and dodged in a blur, racing towards Zaku to attack. Zaku turned the air jets, slashing towards Sasuke and blasting the ground, but Sasuke leapt over the attack and debris, delivering a downward kick to Zaku's head. The Sound genin crumpled to he floor under the weight of the blow, but quickly rolled away. He began to fire poorly aimed but rapid air blasts at Sasuke, desperately trying to force him back. Unable to close, Sasuke formed the seals for the Grand Fireball technique and blasted the massive flame at Zaku. Caught off guard the Sound genin was hit. He was blasted back, burnt severely, saved from instant death only by one of his air blasts. He lay motionless on the ground a distance away.

" Match is over, winner is Sasuke." said the examiner. Sasuke stalked back up the stairs.

" Great job, Sasuke-kun!" cheered Sakura as he walked over. Others congratulated him as well. Naruto and Sasuke's eyes met and they glared competitively.

---

The next two matches went quickly, with Shikamaru defeating Kin and Temari beating Ten-Ten.

" Shino and Hinata." called the examiner. The bug user walked down the stairs wordlessly.

" Kick his ass, Hinata." Naruto said, cheering Hinata on. Hinata smiled and walked down the stairs quickly, taking position a shirt distance from Shino.

" Begin." said the examiner.

Hinata charged forward, Byakugan active, trying to close with Shino. Her taijutsu was more effective than his and was her best chance for winning. Shino stayed motionless, keeping his hands in his pockets. She was almost to him when she realized he was leading her into a trap. She turned, dodging to the side and skidding to a halt. Shino continued to stand motionless, not even turning towards her. Thanks to her eyes she could see it was the real Shino, but his stillness still concerned her.

Hinata drew a shuriken and threw it towards the bug user as a test. Shino did not dodge and was struck in the back by the shuriken, which embedded itself and began to bleed. He winced slightly but kept his position. Moments later, however, the shuriken fell out and the bleeding stopped. Hinata could see the bugs massing on the wound, using chakra to stimulate healing.

" The amount of chakra my hive has absorbed recently gives me greatly improved reserves. I will be able to use my bugs to heal any non lethal wound." Shino said, still not facing her.

Hinata decided that she had to press the attack and risk his trap, so she lunged forward in a Jyuuken strike. She connected, sealing the chakra point in the center of his spine. However, the instant she did, a number of bugs ripped though his skin, flooding outward at her. Before the swarm struck she began the Heavenly Spin technique, blowing a number away. However, the technique still did not completely form and a large number of the bugs latched on to her.

Shino finally moved, spinning in a kick at her feet. She leapt over, landing on the other side of him. He came up swining a punch which she was forced to block, but the moment his fist connected with her arm the bugs swarmed out of his sleeve, enveloping her arm. She tried to brush the insects off, feeling her chakra supplies quickly being drained, but Shino delivered a punch to her midsection, winding her. She fell backwards as the swarm enveloped her.

" Hinata!" Naruto cried from above, nearly leaping off the side of the balcony. Kiba had to grab him and hold him back.

" Your chakra reserves are depleted." said Shino as the bugs left Hinata. She struggled to her feet. " Since your taijutsu style is dependant on chakra, you have no useable abilities. I would suggest surrender."

" No." Hinata said wearily. A moment later she was knocked upwards by a punch, then back down into the floor by an aerial kick. Shino had moved faster than she could react, propelling his motions the stolen chakra. Hinata lay on the ground, barely able to move.

" I declare that Hinata is unable to continue." said the examiner, appearing next to them.

" No." said Hinata, struggling to sit up.

" I'm sorry, but I have made my ruling." said the examiner as medic-nin's ran over. They began to put her onto a stretcher, but she resisted. Naruto ran down towards her.

" I want to stay." she said, struggling to keep her eyes open.

" I'm sorry, but you have severe chakra fatigue. We need to get you to observation." said the medic.

" I'm sorry." Hinata whispered as Naruto arrived by the stretcher. " I failed."

" Don't say that! Shino's really tough. It's not bad to lose to him." said Naruto, grabbing Hinata's hand.

" I still failed." said Hinata, tears in her eyes. " I'm still a failure."

" Hinata, I'm a bigger one than you are." said Naruto, trying to cheer her up.

" Don't say that." said Hinata, looking at Naruto.

" It's true, though." said Naruto. " But being a failure isn't the problem. It's accepting that. I man, come on. You got this far on your first try. All those genin didn't even get here. And I like you even if you didn't win." Hinata looked at Naruto adoringly and squeezed his hand.

" We have to get her out of here." said the medics. They began to walk towards the exit with Hinata. Naruto walked with them. By the door, Asuma caught Naruto.

" I want to see if she's okay." said Naruto as Asuma grabbed his arm.

" Kid, I hate to do this but you have to stay." said Asuma, looking apologetic. " You need to see the other fights. Besides, Hinata's tough." Asuma pulled Naruto towards the stairs. Naruto looked back at Hinata, but followed reluctantly.

Kabuto and Neji fought next. While Kabuto fought well, injuring Neji by using a medical jutsu to cut him, Neji managed to seal his chakra points with the Divine Sixty Four Strikes. As he limped from the room he gave Naruto the thumbs up. Ino fell to Dosu, being defeated by the sound waves from his attacks, and Kankuro was beaten by Sakura when she trapped him in a genjutsu and tricking him into attacking himself with his puppet. Naruto jeered as the medic's helped him away, feeling a little better but still worried about Hinata.

" Choji and Gaara!" shouted the examiner.

" I surrender." said Choji, raising his hand and looking scared.

" You aren't even going to try?" asked Kurenai, looking annoyed.

" He's way too tough." said Choji, munching on a bag of chips. Kurenai sighed. Gaara looked unmoved by the news.

" Kiba and Lee!" came the next match up.

" Aw, crap." said Kiba, petting Akamaru. Lee leapt into the arena and began to stretch. Kiba and Akamaru took position as far from Lee as they could, entering the pose for the Beast Clone. The examiner began the match.

Lee took off as Kiba and Akamaru performed the jutsu.

" Buy me some time!" ordered Kiba. Akamaru leapt forward, racing towards Lee as Kuba bit his finger and began to channel chakra for the summon technique. Lee dealt the first blow, punching Akamaru in the face, but Akamaru carried his charge into a tackle, knocking Lee backwards and down to the floor. Lee kicked Akamaru into the air and leapt to his feet. Akamaru spun as he fell, landing and connecting with a sweeping kick at Lee's midsection as Kiba finished the summons.

Three snarling ninja dogs appeared and bounded towards Lee alongside Kiba. Lee dodged away from Akamaru, but found himself surrounded on every side. Five Piercing Fang's shot towards him, and Lee disappeared in a cloud of dust as they struck. However, Lee had narrowly escaped, leaping into the air and landing a safe distance away. When the cloud settled Akamaru, Kiba, and the three ninja dogs were looking at him with bared fangs. Lee settled into his readied position, looking worried.

" It looks like Lee is in trouble. Kiba and Akamaru are as fast as he is, and the dogs just make it worse." said Kakashi to Guy. Guy looked at his rival for a moment, then smirked.

" Lee!" said Guy, calling down to his pupil. " Take them off!"

" But Guy-sensei, you said to only do that when protecting someone important!" Lee yelled back.

" I don't care! Take them off!" said Guy with a laugh. Lee got a startled look on his face for a moment, but it soon turned into pure joy. He pulled down his leg warmers, revealing a number of weights.

" Like that will help you!" said Kiba as he and the dogs charged. Akamaru dashed around, planning on taking Lee from the side. Lee grabbed the weights, ripping them off and leaping into the air. He threw the weights towards Kiba and the ninja dogs. They struck the ground with increable force, creating a blast wave that knocked Kiba back and causing the ninja dogs to vanish in three puffs of smoke.

Everyone in the room was astounded.

Kiba leapt to his feet, facing Lee. Akamaru was behind, flanking him. Lee took his pose, beckoning Kiba on with one hand. Kiba and Akamaru leapt towards Lee in a twin Piercing Fang, but before they connected Lee knocked them back with ease. The force of the hits disrupted the Beast Clone, causing Kiba and Akamaru to revert to their real forms.

" What the hell?" said Kiba, sitting up weakly. " Theres no way you could have blocked that!" A moment later, Lee appeared behind Kiba, moving faster than anyone could see. He held a kunai to Kiba's throat, signaling victory. Akamaru ran up, barking angrily at Lee.

" Rock Lee wins." said the examiner. Lee let go of Kiba.

" You fought very well, Kiba." said Lee, putting his kunai away.

" Yeah, thanks." said Kiba, picking up Akamaru, who growled at Lee. " You still kicked my ass."

" Naruto and Misumi!" called the examiner as Kiba and Lee left the arena.

" You won't beat me just by having a lot of chakra." said Misumi as he faced Naruto. " Surrender now if you want to live."

" Could you shut up? I want to get his over with and go check on Hinata-chan." said Naruto, hands behind his head in a relaxed pose.

Misumi's arms suddenly shot forward, grabbing onto a shocked Naruto. Naruto formed a single clone as he was pulled towards Misumi and constricted. Before Misumi could hurt Naruto, however, both Naruto and the clone switched places using the replacement technique.

" Impressive. How did you know to have a clone prepared?" asked Misumi, beginning to untangle himself.

" Well, you reached out and tried to grab me, so I guessed what you were going to do." Naruto said, sounding unimpressed. " It wasn't too hard to figure out."

" Impressive. I wonder how many times you can do that." said Misumi, arm curled around the clone. He began to choke the clone.

" Who cares? You just lost." said Naruto, forming the detonation seal. The clone exploded, disintergrating Misumi's arm and throwing him into the wall. He slumped to the ground where he lay, unmoving.

---

Hinata blinked as the ceiling came into focus. She was in a soft bed. Her body ached, still low on chakra, but she sat up determinedly.

" Your awake!" Naruto said. Hinata looked around the hospital room. Naruto was sitting in a seat next to her bed, while Kiba and Akamaru were waiting on a couch against the far wall.

" How long was I asleep?" asked Hinata with a yawn.

" A few hours." Naruto said, smiling at her. " How do you feel?"

" Tired." said Hinata. Suddenly, the memories of her loss came back to her.

" Hey, don't make that face." said Kiba, reading Hinata's look. " Me and Akamaru lost too." Akamaru gave a small whine.

" And anyways, your loss is pretty much my fault." said Asuma, walking in. " I wasn't able to help you get the Heavenly Spin technique right and I never had you and Kiba train your chakra reserves."

" But still…" Hinata said before Asuma cut her off.

" Hinata, I don't want to hear you say another word about losing and I want you to stop calling yourself a failure. Your progress since you became a genin is amazing." said Asuma.

" Yeah. The only reason I started learning the new techniques is because you were getting way better than me." Kiba chirped in.

" Thank you." said Hinata, tears in her eyes. " You four…you are my real family. I can't thank you enough for the kindness you have shown me."

" Wait, if were your family, does that make Naruto your brother? You can't date him if he's your brother." Kiba said jokingly. Asuma bopped him on the head, earning a thankful look from Naruto.

---

" So," said Asuma when they met the next day, " I have a new training plan for us. Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata, I'm going to have us work on the chakra focusing technique. It's a good first step in building up chakra reserves. Naruto, I have something else for you."

" What is it, sensei?" Naruto asked eagerly.

" You have a massive chakra reserve, but you can't use it very efficiently." Asuma said. " I called in a favor from a family friend who was in the area to help you with that."

" Who is it?" said Naruto, jumping up and down with excitement.

" Asuma, if this kid keeps acting like that I might just go back to my research." said a large old man, walking up. He had wild, spiky white hair and a scroll on his back that dwarfed Kiba's largest.

" Hey, Jiraiya. Thanks for agreeing to this." said Asuma, rubbing the back of his head. " Naruto's a bit of a handful, but I think you'll like him."

" We'll see. Come, Naruto." said Jiraiya, turning and walking away.

" Where are we going?" asked Naruto, following closely.

" A hot spring." said Jiraiya, a perverted look crossing his face.

" All right, you three." said Asuma, turning to his remaining students. " Training time."


	16. Chapter 16

ONE MONTH LATER

---

" Man, where is Naruto?" asked Kiba, looking around. He, Akamaru, and Hinata had gotten to the arena early so they could get good seats. The opening ceremonies were about to begin and neither Naruto or the old man that Asuma had gotten to teach him were to be seen. Sasuke was also not present.

" I hope he is okay." Hinata said worriedly.

" Ahh, he'll be fine." said Asuma, taking a seat by them. " He's against Sasuke in his first match. He wouldn't miss that if he was dead."

" I wonder what he's learned." said Kiba.

" Well, he probably caught up to you two in chakra control." Asuma said, lighting a cigarette. He had treated himself to his favorite expensive brand for the occasion. " Jiraiya is an incredible teacher, so he probably knew tricks I never would have thought of."

" Yeah, but I have way more chakra now." said Akamaru, now fully capable of human speech, though he preferred barking.

" Me too." agreed Kiba. " Naruto's still got more, but we've caught up a bit."

" My big question is if Jiraiya taught him any new techniques." Asuma said, taking a drag. " He'll want to show that off a bunch."

" Yeah, but Hinata's got the Heavenly Spin down now. There isn't anything that can match that." said Kiba, rubbing his still sore hand. He had broken it while he was helping Hinata practice.

" I have to agree. It's a legendary technique. But, Jiraiya is one of the legendary Sannin." replied Asuma.

" Sannin?" said Hinata, looking away from the arena, which she had been watching for Naruto.

" Yeah, my dad's only students. Probably the best ninja to ever come out of Kohona except for the Fourth." Asuma said, sounding bitter. " Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya."

" We ran into a ninja claiming to be Orochimaru in the Forest of Death." said Hinata, thinking back. Asuma laughed.

" No way." Asuma said with certainty. " Orochimaru is a Kage level individual. You'd have been dead before you felt any pain."

" Hey, it's starting!" said Kiba, pointing to the arena.

" The first match will be between Haruno Sakura and Temari of the Desert!" announced the final examiner, a man in a dark bandanna who had a needle hanging out of his mouth like a toothpick. Temari leapt onto her fan dramatically, floating into the arena. Sakura entered less impressively. The examiner signaled to begin.

Temari hefted her fan, opening it fully and swinging, sending a torrent of find towards. The crowd gasped as it struck her and blaster her apart into cherry petals. Sakura came walking though the entry corridor a few moments later.

" I saw your fight against my brother. You're a talented genjutsu user." said Temari, glancing around. " So I spent some time practicing breaking genjutsu." Sakura appeared behind Temari, rushing in for the kill with a kunai. Temari swung the fan backwards, forcing Sakura to dodge away to avoid the scything wind. She landed a safe distance away and took a ready position. Temari swung the fan again, sending the blast of air at Sakura, who didn't manage to dodge completely and was hurled into the wall, where she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

" What?" said Temari, looking at the place Sakura should have been.

" A shadow clone." said Kiba, leaning forward.

" She must have dropped the genjutsu on it to confuse Temari." said Hinata, looking around. " I wonder why she hasn't attacked yet."

" She's testing Temari. Sakura's combat skills are bad, but her genjutsu and planning abilities are good. She has to make sure that when she strikes it will be decisive." Asuma said, analyzing the situation.

" I'm glad I didn't have to fight her." said a voice behind them. Walking down the stairs was Kabuto. " I have trouble with genjutsu."

" Hey Kabuto." said Kiba, waving. " Here to watch?"

" Duh." said Akamaru, making Kiba sulk.

" Mind if I join you?" asked the genin, gesturing to a empty seat.

" Not at all." Asuma said. The silver haired ninja took a seat by them.

Down in the arena, Temari was cautiously looking around for signs of Sakura. Once again she swung the fan, but this time the wind that issued forth was far more intense. It began to circle around the arena, striking at random in an attempt to force Sakura out of her hiding place. The winds slowly died down, the attack unsuccessful.

" You can't keep this genjutsu up forever!" yelled Temari, swinging again. Gust after gust wracked the arena, cracking the ground and destroying all the available cover. Temari stopped, shutting the fan and holding it out like a club.

" She realized Sakura's plan." said Kabuto, leaning forward.

" Plan?" asked Kiba.

" Sakura hid like this to force Temari to use her techniques to try and flush her out, giving Sakura knowledge of her abilities and depleting her chakra." Kabuto explained.

" Woah." said Kiba, looking back down.

" Come out and fight!" said Temari, walking forward and brandishing the closed fan. From nowhere a kunai with a explosive tag on it landed in front of her. Temari flipped backwards out of the blast, barely avoiding the flames. Temari and the crowd looked up instinctively and spotted Sakura sitting on the ledge of the arena, high above everything.

" Ha!" said Temari, swinging the fan and sending a scythe of wind towards Sakura. At the attack hit there was the telltale puff of smoke, signaling it had been a shadow clone. An instant later Sakura appeared behind Temari, lunging with a kunai. She connected, stabbing into Temari's back. In a well practiced counterattack Temari leaned over, whirling the fan like a saw, destroying another clone.

" What?" shouted Temari as the crowd startled.

" That's four clones plus the genjutsu." said Kiba, counting on his fingers. " She can't have much chakra left.

" Three." correct Hinata. " Three clones." Kiba looked at her aggravated.

Temari pulled the kunai out, but the wound was on her back and hard to reach, so she would not be able to tend to it. She stood readied with her fan.

" Well, looks like I lose!" said Sakura, appearing in the stands. There was uproar from the crowd.

" What is the meaning of this?" yelled a judge.

" Well, my focus is on genjutsu." Sakura explained smugly. " My combat skills are poor, so I focus on hiding my presence. Before the match started I made a shadow clone in the corridor where no one could see me. It came out, hid with the genjutsu, and made a few more copies. I figured that the one with the explosive tag had a good shot at beating her and the one with the kunai would be a sure hit."

" But you never entered the arena!" said the judge irately.

" Yeah. If I had, she would have won." said Sakura, pointing to Temari, who was applying pressure to her wound. " She knew I used genjutsu and had really strong attacks. This way, I hurt her with no risk to myself. If my teammates had been in the fight they could finish her off easily. I'm out of chakra though, so I have to quit."

The crowd looked quite surprised. The judges began to talk amongst themselves as Sakura found a seat by Ino and Temari returned to the contestants box.

" But if you think that was good, just wait for Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed.

" That is the finalist people are here to see." said Kabuto, adjusting his glasses.

" Really? Why?" asked Akamaru.

" Well, he is the last living Uchiha." explained Asuma. " There is no clan more famous in the ninja world than the Uchiha."

" As well, Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, is one of the greatest masters of the Sharingan." added Kabuto. " He's one of Kohona's most famous ninja. The fact that all three of his apprentices are in this chunnin exam and are in the first three matches is well known as well."

" Aburmae Shino and Nara Shikamaru!" announced the examiner. The two genin began to walk towards the arena.

" Well, I hope these two take a long time." said Asuma, leaning back. " If Naruto and Sasuke aren't here soon, their gonna miss their match."

The examiner began the match. The two genin face each other, bugs beginning to rise from Shino. Shikamaru looked up towards the clouds as his shadow shot forward, catching the unmoving Shino.

" Interesting." said Shino is his bland voice. " I was not aware the Shadow Possession would also effect my bugs."

" You let yourself get hit, did you?" asked Shikamaru, still staring upwards. " How troublesome. That means you were testing my technique, weren't you?"

" I was." agreed Shino.

Shino and Shikamaru took off at a run, racing towards the side of the arena, their shadows still connected. In unison they leapt onto the wall, breaking the shadows connection. Shikamaru flipped backwards with practiced precision, Shino landing more heavily. The bug user leapt away, putting distance between himself and Shikamaru. Shikamaru leaned against the wall lazily, staring back at the clouds.

" With the Shadow Possession you can nullify any opponent." Shino said, taking to himself. " But you cannot win with it. It forces a stalemate. It will be aggravating to face you."

" What is this?" said a man in the crowd by where Asuma and his group were sitting. " Are they going to think or fight?"

" Think." said Hinata to the man. " Shikamaru is one of the most intelligent genin in Kohona and a dangerous tactician. Shino is also highly intelligent and fights to end a battle in several quick strokes. When the combat happens, it will be impressive." The man looked at Hinata for a moment, then returned to watching.

Shikamaru was lost in the cloud gazing and Shino was pacing. Shino stopped and faced Shikamaru, holding up one arm and releasing a small cloud of insects. The crowd gasped in disgust as they flew outwards towards Shikamaru. Shikamaru look out a kunai with a explosive note attached and threw it lazily towards the swarm, scattering them with the blast.

" As I suspected." said Shino, talking to himself and pacing again. " You have prepared for that." Shino began walking calmly towards Shikamaru, who walked away from the wall. About five meters from each other they stopped as Shikamaru's shadow caught Shino's.

" I know your bugs aren't really effected by the Shadow Possession." Shikamaru said. " You were just looking for a way to win without showing that off. I surrender." The genin began walking towards the entry corridor while the crowd began to complain and throw things.

" He just gave up? Where's this strategy?" said the man to Hinata.

" Are you really giving up like that?" asked the examiner.

" Yeah." Shikamaru said. " It's a bad matchup. My only technique is the Shadow Possession, and his techniques aren't effected by that. That's rare and I don't have any practice against that problem. I planned out a few hundred taijutsu attacks, but I always ended up getting my chakra drained and losing."

Suddenly, there was a whirl of leaves, Sasuke and Kakashi appearing in the arena.

" He's actually on time." said Asuma, surprised.

" It's the Uchiha!" cheered one of the lords. The crowd forgot about the previous fight instantly and began to cheer. " Who's he fighting?" called someone else.

" Uzamaki Naruto." called the examiner.

" Who?" asked someone near Hinata loudly.

" The Clone Ninja!" said a foreign lord excitedly. " I heard he can make an entire army!"

" I'll believe that when I see it!" someone shot back.

" Believe it!" said Kiba, standing up. " He's on my team!" He basked in the attention he received.

" Well, where is he?" someone shouted. " Wait, what's that?"

Down in the arena, a small red toad came hopping out of the entrance corridor. It stopped near Kakashi and opened its mouth. Slowly a hand emerged from it, then a large man with wild white hair shot out, landing impressively.

" It's Jiraiya." said one of the lords. A hush had fallen over the crowd. " What's he doing here?"

" He's teaching Naruto." Asuma said, taking a drag of the cigarette.

" I hope we aren't too late." said Jiraiya to Kakashi.

" Nope. We only got here a moment before you did." replied Kakashi, walking towards the entrance corridor.

" Uzamaki Naruto!" called the examiner. " Show yourself!"

" Up here!" yelled a voice from above. Sasuke looked up stoicaly. Naruto was standing proudly on the rim of the arena. The examiner walked away, shaking his head.

" Ready to lose, dead last?" taunted Sasuke, smiling. Naruto leapt into the air, forming a score of shadow clones as he fell. They landed and the fight began.

The clones rushed towards Sasuke in their typical charge. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and lunged towards them, scattering them with a series of fast combinations. Passing though the clones, he raced towards the real Naruto. Naruto formed a wall of clones which raced forwards, beginning to bog Sasuke down. He then preformed the explosive clone technique, sending them into the melee and blasting it apart. The crowd was dumbfounded as they explosions rocked the arena and Sasuke dodged backwards to safety.

" The exploding one's are a new trick, but your still the same Naruto who lost to me." Sasuke said confidently. " I've gotten way stronger."

Naruto smiled viciously as he formed a new jutsu. From below Sasuke a mud clone formed, grabbing his ankles and hefting him into the air. Sasuke was thrown helplessly towards the real Naruto as twenty more clones formed, attacking Sasuke in the air. Sasuke began to scatter the clones before the mud clone tackled him, knocking him to the ground. The other clones began to pile on. Sasuke suddenly appeared a short distance away.

" Replacement Technique, Naruto." he said tauntingly.

" Wow. You really showed me." said one of the clones, standing back up.

" Hey everyone, isn't his academy level jutsu impressive?" Naruto called to the crowd. Sasuke grit his teeth and took a stance. " Anyways, Sasuke, those were tests."

" For what?" Sasuke asked.

" This." Naruto said. " Mass Shadow Clone!"

Hinata blinked as several hundred clones appeared, filling the combat arena.

" Woah." said Kiba. " He's never made that many before. Wait, his seal!" he said, remembering times when Naruto had drawn massive chakra like that.

" It doesn't look like he's hurt." said Asuma. " Jiraiya probably helped him with that."

Sasuke spun, delivering a kick to the first clone that charged. The mass began to bear down on him, but the raven haired boy leapt into the air, forming a jutsu. He blasted a massive fireball downwards, clearing an area and creating a smoking crater. As he landed he pulled out several shuriken threw them. They seemed to split apart in midair and increase in number, striking the clones that had leapt up in aerial kicks. However, the mass began to press in on him again.

Using his Sharingan, Sasuke intercepted and avoided a number of blows, striking back valiantly. The mass of clones was too great, though, and Sasuke was drug down.

" Naruto got him!" cheered Hinata, but a second later several kunai shot though the pile of clones, wires dangling behind. A roaring jets of flames followed, incinerating clones and freeing Sasuke. The beleaguered Sasuke dodged away from the mass, cutting a path though the clones at lighting speed. They quickly circled him again, keeping a safe distance away.

" Incredible." said one of the dumbstruck spectators.

" They are both impressive combatants." Kabuto said, leaning forward. " But I feel we have still not seen their true power."

" Naruto's got an army down there and Sasuke's untouchable." Kiba said in disbelief. " If that's not their true power, I'm completely screwed."

Sasuke formed two shadow clones of his own which took sides by him, facing out towards Naruto's clones.

" Naruto, did you know the Sharingan lets me see the color of chakra? I can tell which of you is real." said Sasuke, smirking. Suddenly, he and his clones dashed towards the Naruto clones, leaping in. The three Uchiha's became whirling death, cutting thought the endless clones with fists and fire. But no matter how many they defeated as they pressed on, more clones filed in to fight. Explosive clones entered the fray, blasting holes in the melee, which the Uchiha were only able to avoid narrowly. Mud clones rose from the ground if they stood in one place too long, trying to dray them down.

Finally, an explosive clone destroyed one of Sasuke's copies. The other clone was quickly mobbed and beaten, disappearing as well. The real Sasuke was left on his own against the clones.

" I got you, Sasuke!" yelled a clone, rushing and punching. Sasuke deflected his arm and threw him into another clone, destroying both.

" Wrong." said Sasuke, a evil look crossing his face. He began to grab his forearm rapidly, crackling chakra coming from his hand.

" He didn't." Asuma said, wide eyed. " There's no way Kakashi taught him…"

Before Kiba could ask what, Sasuke lunged forward, the lightning attack slicking though dozens of clones with a single leap. Emerging from the mass Sasuke lunged forward, grabbing onto the real Naruto and locking their vision. Naruto pushed him off, but it was too late.

" He hit Naruto with a genjutsu." said Asuma, sounding amazed. Naruto stumbled back, then looked around in a panic. He attacked a clone, destroying it. Sasuke dodged behind Naruto as the blonde genin began to fight his own clones.

" What was that attack, sensei?" asked Hinata.

" That was the Chidori, Kakashi's only original attack. It's a lighting blade that can cut anything. It's incredibly dangerous, so I'm surprised that…" Asuma trailed off as a ANBU ninja tapped on his shoulder and motioned for him to follow, leaving the genin and Kabuto behind.

" Were putting everyone on alert." said the ANBU after they had gotten out of earshot. " The Hokage believes something's up."

Before Asuma could ask what was happening, a roar came from the arena. Naruto was standing, a swirling red chakra leaking from his body. The clones near him also appeared to be undergoing some transformation.

" Bad news, Sasuke." said Naruto, eyes gone red. The new chakra swirled around him violently. " I can break genjutsu now."

Before Sasuke could react, Naruto threw his hands together and began to strain. The new chakra seemed to concentrate for a moment, then blaster outwards, shattering the genjutsu and incinerating a number of clones. Naruto came flying out of the energy field as fast as Lee moved without weights, catching Sasuke in a vicious uppercut and knocking him high into the air. Not slowing a bit, Naruto leapt after him as the black marks of the cursed seal spread over Sasuke's skin.

Several things happened when they collided.

The force of their strikes upon each other sent a shockwave out, buffeting the entire arena and knocking most the spectators over. Shouts of alarm came from outside of the arena, indicating the village was under attack. Gaara leapt forward into the arena, grinning psychotically, no longer able to contain himself. And finally, the Kazekage leapt from his seat, putting a kunai to the Hokage's throat.

---

Naruto and Sasuke pushed apart, dodging a pillar of sand that swung at them. They landed, facing Gaara. Above, they could see a number of Kohona ninja and foreign ninja began to battle.

" These two are strong, mother." Gaara said, sand flowing from the gourd on his back. " But I promised to kill them for you, so I will."

" He threatened to kill you as well, Naruto?" said Sasuke, grinning widely.

" He did. Want to kick his ass?" asked Naruto, putting his hangs into position to form more explosive clones.

Sasuke leapt backwards, grasping at his forearm, while the explosive clones charged Gaara, detonating around him. The sand shielded him, however, saving him from the damage.

---

" What the hell?" cried Kiba, leaping to his feet as a number of the spectators threw off their disguises. There were Stone, Sand, and Sound ninja suddenly facing them. Asuma, Kakashi, Guy, and Kurenai were already in combat, and outside it sounded like war had broken out. " Akamaru!" The dog barked and jumped onto Kiba's back, and an instant later the Beast Clone was complete.

" Ha!" yelled Kiba as he leapt into the air, coming down in a kick to a Stone ninja. Hinata deflected a kunai and activated he Byakugan. There was a loud crunch as a snake, far larger then the one they had fought in the Forest of Death, crashed into the side of the arena before continuing down the street of Kohona.

" Go stop that thing!" ordered Asuma, landing by them for a second. Kiba and Akamaru raced off though the hole the snake had made, chasing the monster down the street. Hinata was about to follow when Kabuto blocked her path, swinging a chakra laden hand at her. She barely rolled out of the way.

" I'm sorry, Hinata. I can't let you go further." said Kabuto, still smiling politely. He had switched his headband to a Sound village one.

" Traitor." hissed Hinata though her teeth. She raced forward, aiming a Jyuuken strike at Kabuto, who dodged away gracefully. She attacked several more times, but he was faster than she was and got away each time. However, Lee appeared from nowhere, landing a kick to Kabuto's face and knocking him through several rows of bleachers.

" What is going on?" Hinata yelled as she dodged a small explosion.

" Guy-sensei say's we are under attack and that several villages have declared war on us!" Lee said, delivering a uppercut to a Sand ninja. Hinata hit the man with a Jyuuken strike and he fell to the floor motionless. " We need to clear the arena first! I have been outside, and most of the enemy ninja are being help at the village wall, though there are several breaches."

" Right." said Hinata as Kabuto leap to his feet.

---

" Man, that things huge!" barked Akamaru as the gigantic snake crashed into a building, sending it toppling to the ground. Kiba bit his thumb and pressed it to the ground. Seven ninja dogs appeared, barking eagerly.

" Lets get it!" Kiba said, leaping into the air for the Piercing Fang attack. Akamaru and the dogs followed, the scything tornados striking the snake's scaly flesh and tearing it apart. The snake collapsed to the ground, splintering the stone street.

" Theres another!" barked one of the dogs. Kiba and Akamaru turned, seeing another of the giant snakes crashing through the village wall near them, scattering the defenders. They raced in the direction, arriving just as the snake slithers out of the way, letting the attackers though. The ninja dogs attacked the snake, shredding it, before joining Kiba and Akamaru in scattering the surprised attackers. Dozens of Sound ninja were cut to shreds, the others retreating. As the sections defenders recovered,, Akamaru barked, having spotted another of the snakes. The pack howled as they ran towards the next snake.

---

Naruto dodged another spiraling arm of sand. Gaara had shielded himself in some sort of sand ball, completely protecting himself from harm.

" He's focusing his chakra somehow!" Sasuke said, flipping over a pillar of sand. " I need to hit him now!"

" Right!" said Naruto, forming a group of clones. Sasuke leapt into the air and was caught by the clones as they formed a chain. They whipped him forward, throwing him with such force that he looking like a bold of lightning. He struck the sand ball hard, the Chidori cutting deep into it, but not far enough. He quickly pulled his arm out and retreated as a wave of sand enveloped the spot he had been a moment before. He landed by Naruto as the corpse of a Leaf ninja landed by them.

" Naruto, I have to try Chidori again! You need to make as many clones as you can and go help the village!" Sasuke shouted. " This guy's just stalling us!"

" Right!" shouted Naruto. He leapt into the air with insane force, propelling himself onto the top of the arena. It was one of the tallest buildings in Kohona, so he had a good view.

Half the city seemed to be on fire and everywhere he looked, the Leaf defenders were being overrun. He winced in anticipation as he jammed the jutsu together and forced all of the demon fox's chakra in.

---

Lee gasped in pain as Kabuto's attack grazed his shoulder, making a deep gash. He dodged back, putting some distance between himself and the highly dangerous ninja. Neji landed near them, racing over.

" Hinata-sama, we need to see to the manor's defenses!" he yelled. " Most of the clan's warriors will be at the walls, and those that remain will be unable to defend themselves!"

" We can handle this guy." said Choji as he, Ino, and Shikamaru ran up. Lee had pulled a arm bandage off and began to treat his wound.

A primal, deafening scream came from above and everyone in the arena looked up. Naruto stood high above them, a flaming chakra radiating from his body. Suddenly, the sky filled with orange as thousands of clones began to appear, falling from the sky in legion. The enemy ninja began to flee the arena.

" Hinata-sama!" said Neji pleadingly. Hinata turned to him a nodded, and they sped away as the other genin began to fight Kabuto.

The manor was not far, thankfully. On the way they could see Naruto, clones still forming around him, pouring down the arena sides and though the streets of Kohona like a wave. They arrived at the manor and found a small perimeter of the clan's elderly around it.

" Hinata-sama!" cried one of the aged Hyuuga as she approached.

" G-get inside and get all the children safe!" Hinata ordered. " Neji and I will keep guard!" The old Hyuuga raced insides and Hinata and Neji took positions on the roof where they could see the entire manor. A giant snake came slithering by, only to be cut apart by Kiba and the ninja dogs.

" Eleven!" yelled Kiba as they came to a halt.

" There is another by the lake!" said Hinata, focusing her Byakugan. Kiba nodded and raced off with his allies.

" Hinata-sama!" said Neji, pointing to a nearby street. Ten individuals in featureless grey cloaks were walking towards the manor calmly. Hinata could see that they had stone blades like the woman she had fought and realized that they were the remaining Eleven Masters.

" And here are the Hyuuga." said one as they walked towards where Neji and Hinata stood. " And how fortunate! The one who disgraced us and her lesser cousin. We will avenge that insult today."

" That is unlikely." said Neji as he and Hinata leapt down to meet them. " The Hyuuga clan is the strongest."

" Your servant speaks for you!" said one of the grey cloaked ninjas as they drew the stone blades.

" He is not my servant." Hinata said. The ninja had them surrounded and she found herself back to back with Neji. " Neji, I can use the Heavenly Spin now, so I will be safe. I will make a opening for you to escape."

" I can use it as well." Neji replied. " I will stay and fight, Hinata-sama."

Two of the ninja leapt at them, stabbing forward. In unison Hinata and Neji activated the Divine Sixty Four Strikes, slowing the Stone ninja's movements to a crawl. Neither aimed for chakra points, simply deflecting the stone blades and delivering lethal strikes to internal organs. The ninja fell to the ground motionless. The others charged as the jutsu failed, only to be repulsed by the blue wave of chakra as the Heavenly Spin formed.

---

" Thirteen!" cheered Kiba as Akamaru and the remaining two ninja dogs tore though another snake. He was exhausted, but felt driven on by pure adrenaline. Near him a platoon of Naruto clones had relieved the defenders of a breach in the wall, giving them time to treat their wounds and regroup. Despite the mustered forces of three villages outside the walls, the tide of clones had sealed the wall completely. The battle inside the city had been reduced to Kiba and the snakes, and whatever it was going on at the arena. As another snake ripped though the wall Kiba jammed chakra into his legs and sped onward. He had nearly reached it when another roar, the loudest yet, ripped though the village making even the snake stop in its tracks.

At the arena a giant creature looking like a badger made out of sand had appeared.

---

Naruto nearly fell from the arena wall as the gigantic monster appeared. Sasuke landed near him, avoiding being crushed by the creatures formation.

" What the hell is that?" said Naruto, his jaw dropping.

" I don't know. That thing Gaara was in suddenly formed into this. I can see Gaara under it, but I don't have enough chakra for another Chidori." said Sasuke, standing up.

" I'm almost out too." said Naruto. Sasuke looked over at him, eyes wide.

" Naruto, I need your chakra. I have a technique that can drain it." said Sasuke, performing a series of hand signs. " But I need you to try throwing me again."

" Right!" said Naruto as Sasuke grabbed his arm. He felt the last of the demon foxes chakra drain. Sasuke suddenly convulsed, the cursed seal marks glowing red. He fell over heavily, shaking as the seal spred over his entire body.

" Are you all right?" asked Naruto as Sasuke stood up. His body had transformed, Sharingan going yellow and black and his skin becoming pale white.

" I am." he said, moving unsteadily.

" Hey! You guys up here!" Naruto shouted to a crowd of clones that was running from a giant snake. As Kiba and Akamaru cut though it with the Piercing Fang, the clones leapt up to the wall, quickly forming a chain and grabbing onto Sasuke. With red chakra driven strength they hurled him at the giant badger as it finished forming.

" Finally, after all this time, I'm out!" cried the monster, a second before a black bolt of light night pierced through, obliterating it completely. His chakra spent Sasuke reverted and fell helplessly to the ground, being saved by a team of clones.

---

" Did you see that?" yelled one of the four remaining Masters. " The Sand's monster went down!"

" These brat's are pretty tough too! We should pull back!" agreed one of the others. Before he could carry out the plan, however, Hinata leapt over him and activated the Heavenly Spin, grinding him to death on the ground. She landed and while she recovered another ninja charged, the stone blade oozing this chakra. However, Neji blocked, blasting back the ninja before he could strike.

Together, Neji and Hinata had worked in perfect tandem. They were able to perfectly cover each other, allowing no openings for their attackers. The Eleven Masters were close quarters fighters, which was the worst match up against the Hyuuga techniques, and one by one they had fallen.

The remaining three ninja turned to flee, but ran into a crowd of Naruto clones. In the moments it took them to hack though Neji and Hinata had slain two more, landing and flanking the last one.

" It doesn't matter if we die here. The losses Kohona will have taken will be too severe, and your village won't survive." said the ninja, sword held ready.

" We will survive." said Hinata with determination.

" Hinata-sama is correct. We will. You village, however, may not." said Neji, leaping in for a strike. Rather than defending the last Master forced chakra into his sword, detonating it. Neji protected himself with the Heavenly Spin and landed by Hinata.

" And do not think you have actually beaten us here." came a weak voice from the rubble. " After the loss of one of our number the Tsuchikage changed the way we were used. These were mere puppets, controlled from afar by the real Eleven Masters. Your victory means nothing."

" I believe it does." said Neji, walking over and looking the dying man in the eyes. " You were all defeated by two genin. I do not imagine that the Tsuchikage will be pleased with you." Neji charged chakra to his palm and slammed it down into the man, killing him.

---

" Finally, no more snakes!" said Kiba to Akamaru as he looked around. " We can fight someone real now!" Akamaru barked. Nearby there was a crash as Choji was knocked into the side of a building. Kabuto came running out of an alley, dodging Shikamaru's shadow. As the strange purple energy covering the top of the arena vanished, Kabuto leapt onto the rooftop and began running towards the arena.

" Help us!" yelled Ino as the three genin gave chase. Kiba and Akamaru bounded after her.

" Is this guy tough?" asked Akamaru as they ran.

" Really tough. We fought him with Lee, Shino, and Sakura, but he was still beating us. Shino drained most of his chakra so he can't used any jutsu, but he's really fast." shouted Shikamru back. " He's the most troublesome opponent I have ever fought. He even regenerates."

" Damn." swore Kiba as they bounded into the arena. Kabuto ran towards several ninja in white robes with purple rope belts that were helping a man up. Nearby the Third lay motionless. Kiba recognized the man they were helping.

" That's Orochimaru!" said Kiba, skidding to a halt. " Everyone, stop!" The other genin halted.

" A good move." said Kabuto, a taunting smile on his face. " These four are way beyond you, and Lord Orochimaru could kill you with ease."

" Not likely. I think the Third nearly killed him." said Anko, landing nearby. Guy, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma appeared, surrounding the Sound ninja.

" The Sand's retreating." said Kakashi. " The Stone country has been fought back as well. All that's left is the few pathetic Sound ninja that have survived. Speaking of which…" he said as Dosu appeared.

" Dosu, your presence is fortunate." said Orochimaru, struggling to his feet. His arms hung at his sides uselessly. " You tip the balance in our favor."

" Thank you, Orochimaru-sama." said Dosu, staring at the jounin. " I am glad I was given the chance to defend you."

Without warning, he raised his arm, revealing the metal, flute-like section, and smashing it. There was a humming sound and the four ninja guarding Orochimaru collapsed. Before Kabuto could react Dosu had jammed a kunai into his throat, and the silver haired genin fell to the ground, drowning in his own blood.

" What?" cried Orochimaru at this betrayal.

" You sent us here to kill Uchiha Sasuke to test him after you gave him a cursed seal. We were no more than experiments for you." said Dosu, advancing on the weakened Snake Sannin. " We could have been content with this role. But then, when he failed, you sacrificed my friend Zaku for your summon technique. We showed you absolute loyalty and you betrayed us, and now you will die." Dosu raised the kunai again, but before he struck Orochimaru's neck extended towards the Sound genin, attempting to bit him. However, Asuma moved quicker, slicing though Orochimaru's neck. The pale, lifeless corpse fell to the ground.

" Sorry, but he killed my father." said Asuma. " I think that trumps killing a friend."

---

The battle ended soon after Orochimaru's defeat. The Sound ninja surrendered, Dosu assuming charged and negating the terms. The Sand country quickly sued for peace, claiming they had been tricked into participating, while the Stone village simply retreated. Kohona had suffered moderate losses, but nothing compared to what could have been suffered.

The Uzamaki Brigades, as they were now called, had assisted the villagers in putting out the fires. The damage to Kohona was heavy, but had Sasuke not stopped Shukaku. The word of the Eleven Masters complete defeated by the Hyuuga had spread, as well as Kiba and Akamaru's elimination of all of the snakes that had attacked the village.

As night fell a peaceful quiet covered the village. Everyone massed at the arena to see the Third's body bourn away. A large, aged looking monkey in armor was speaking with Jiraiya. Naruto and Sasuke came hobbling out of the arena, supporting each other as they were too tired to stand. They were greeted by a hero's welcome, and despite himself Sasuke joined Naruto in a smile.

" Hey, Pervy Sage!" said Naruto waving to Jiraiya. " Did you see how many clones I made? I didn't get burnt at all!"

" Good job, Naruto!" replied Jiraiya, not caring that Naruto had used the hated nickname.

" Hey, Jiraiya," said Asuma, walking over as the crowd bourn of Naruto and Sasuke. " I found the bodies of the First and the Second Hokage up there."

" Dosu mentioned Orochimaru sacrificing his underlings for a summons. To return someone from the dead, it would take such a evil deed." Jiraiya said, stroking his chin. " It's unfortunate the Third had to kill them. After Orochimaru was killed they would have regained control of themselves, and with the way they were summoned, they would have live for quite a few years."

" I can't belive he's gone." said Asuma, the realization that his father was dead beginning to sweep over him. " Other that you, we don't have anyone to replace him." Asuma said, looking to Jiraiya. He noticed Jiraiya's face had gone pale and was staring past him. Asuma turned and dropped his jaw, despite himself. The attention of every one of the assembled shifted as well.

The Fourth Hokage was walking down the stairs of the arena.


	17. Chapter 17

" It's the Fourth!" someone observed, breaking the silence. Everyone stood stunned as the revived ninja walked down the steps. " But he's dead!" yelled someone else.

" Uh, yeah. I was wondering about that myself." said Minato, rubbing the back of his head. " Did I fail to seal the demon fox?"

" No." said Jiraiya, walking forward. There was a hint of tears in his eyes. " You succeeded. Twelve years ago."

" Huh?" said Minato, blinking. " Using the seal should have killed me!"

" It did." said Jiraiya, standing next to his old student. " You missed a wonderful funeral."

" I don't think this is the time for jokes, Jiraiya-sensei." said Minato with a laugh. " What happened here? The village is a mess."

" We were attack by Orochimaru and his allies." said Jiraiya, the wheels of his mind turning.

" Orochimaru summon the First and Second Hokage. It makes sense that he'd try to summon you too." Asuma said, realizing what Jiraiya was thinking. " We assumed the Third had stopped it somehow."

" That explains where I woke up. I was in a coffin half buried in rubble. It took me a long time to get out, and I could barely move." said Minato. " What's the status of the village?"

" We fought back the Stone, Sand, and Sound villages attack, suffering only moderate casualties, sensei." said Kakashi, walking up, his usual look of boredom on his face. Minato blinked at him for a moment.

" Woah. You got old, Kakashi." Minato said bluntly. " Not as old as Jiraiya-sensei here, though." said Minato, poking Jiraiya in the ribs.

" That happens when you aren't dead." replied Kakashi. " He's really the Forth, isn't he." Kakashi asked Jiraiya. The Toad Sannin looked Minato up and down and walked behind. He poked a point on Minato's back, causing him to recoil a little.

" It is. Minato had a muscle on his back that was often sore. Only the real one would have felt pain from that." said Jiraiya, smiling.

" Welcome back, sensei." said Kakashi, smiling under his mask.

" Thanks. Hey, how did my son turn out?" asked Minato. " Is he here?"

" He turned out just like the character in my book." said Jiraiya, looking around for Naruto in the crowd.

" Wait….did Naruto and Hinata…." Kakashi trailed off, eyes wide with shock.

" No, no, the book you hated, not Make Out Paradise." replied Jiraiya. " He was here a little bit ago. He probably ran off to find his friends."

" That's reassuring." said Minato. " I was afraid he might have been…" he trailed off.

" No, no. In fact, he and his friend Uchiha Sasuke just saved the village." said Jiraiya, patting Minato on the back.

" If you want to know where Naruto went, I can give you directions." said Asuma, walking over with a smirk and lighting a cigarette.

---

" Is that better, Lee?" asked Hinata, focusing the Heavenly Palm on Lee's shoulder. A medic had seen to him, but the wound still hurt.

" It is." said Lee, relaxing. " Thank you."

" I'll take another!" said Naruto, plopping down his bowl with a contented sigh.

Not long after the Third had been carried out, Naruto ( Sasuke reluctantly in tow) had raced around town, gathering everyone and demanding they come for ramen. Even Shikamaru was too tired to complain. The ramen stand was undamaged, which Kiba said was thanks to him stopping a snake from squishing it. Teuchi and Ayame had been overjoyed when Naruto had appeared with all his friends in tow.

" Naruto, that's fifteen bowls!" said Sakura, amazed. " Theres no way you could eat that much and not be sick!"

" Naruto-kun can." said Hinata, smiling towards Naruto. Naruto smiled back, though his attention turned when the new ramen arrived.

" This is a new record for him, though." said Ayame. " Usually he slows down after his sixth or seventh."

" I feel hungrier that I ever in my entire life." said Naruto before slupring up some noodles. " Itd pbly cs m uto chaga."

" What?" asked Kiba.

" It's probably because I'm out of chakra." translated Hinata. Everyone stared towards her. " I learned to understand him while he was eating." she said, smiling nervously.

" Now that's devotion." said Ino, making Hinata blush deeply.

" Another!" Naruto said, plopping the bowl down.

" I didn't even see that one!" said Akamaru in disbelief.

" Then you are fortunate." said Shino, sounding disgusted. He didn't understand the irony as everyone laughed at him.

" Welcome!" said Ayame, looking to someone behind them. A blonde, spiky haired man in a white coat with a flame pattern and a Leaf forehead protector was standing there.

" Sort of." said the man. " I was told I could find my son here."

" Another!" said Naruto, slamming the bowl down.

" Naruto, at this rate I should just let you eat from the pot." said Teuchi, taking the bowl.

" I could do that?" Naruto said, his eyes widening. " Could I?"

" Sure, Naruto." said Teuchi. " I'll add a few portions to your tab."

" I'm sorry, I don't know who your son is." said Ayame apologetically. " Do any of you know?" she asked the genin.

" Actually, it's him." said the man, motioning to Naruto. Everyone but Naruto stared at him in shock. " Uh, I'll have a bowl and wait until he finishes."

" Are you really Naruto-kun's father?" asked Hinata cautiously.

" Well, his names Naruto, his hair looks like mine, and Asuma said this was his favorite restaurant." said the man, taking a seat.

" Hey, I kinda finished the pot of noodles." said Naruto, looking up at everyone.

" Hey Naruto, this guy say's he's your dad." said Kiba, pointing to the newcomer.

" Hi." said Minato, waving. Naruto looked at him blankly, not moving.

" Why now?" asked Naruto, voice eerily calm.

" What do you mean?" asked Minato, confused.

" Why did you show up now?" Naruto said, standing up straight. " Why not a week ago? Why not when I was a six?"

" I was dead." Minato said, sounding apologetic.

" Oh." said Naruto, voice still emotionless.

" Apparently Orochimaru tried to summon me from the dead to kill the Third." Minato explained. " The Third stopped the technique partially. I didn't fight for him, but I did get brought back."

" Go away." said Naruto. " and leave me alone. I never want to see you again." he said as he departed, walking down the street.

---

Hinata found Naruto sitting on a dock by the lake a half hour later.

" Naruto-kun…I spoke with Jiraiya. That man really was your father." said Hinata, taking a seat by Naruto. Naruto looked up at her and she saw his face was red and puffy from crying.

" I know." Naruto said in a pained voice. " I knew the moment I saw him."

" Then why did you tell him those things?" asked Hinata, very concerned.

" Hinata, remember how you said our team was your real family?" Naruto said, tears forming in his eyes.

" I never had a real family. I never had anyone who cared for me or even hated me like your father. I mean, Iruka's the closest thing I ever had to a parent. Asuma's like a uncle and Kiba's like a brother you always want to hit to shut up." said Naruto, forcing a small laugh. Hinata put her arm around him comfortingly.

" I was happy." Naruto said as he looked at Hinata, their eyes meeting. " I was really, really happy. Going on missions, getting beaten up by Lee, I was really happy with it all because everyone …. And you were there. I just got so scared when I looked at that guy, I didn't know what to do."

" You should go see him." came a voice from behind. They turned and spotted Sasuke. " I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought I should come and help. He's your father, Naruto, and you got him back, something that shouldn't happen. If my father was back, I wouldn't hesitate for a second." Sasuke turned and stalked off, a rare sorrowful emotion on his face.

" He's right, Naruto-kun." said Hinata, tears forming in her eyes. " If my mother was back, I would go see her immediately."

" I just… I don't want to lose anyone…I don't want to lose you." said Naruto, looking to Hinata. Hinata leaned forward and kissed him on the lips gently.

" You won't, Naruto-kun." she said. Naruto stared at her for a moment, then stood up.

---

" Smooth." said Kurenai from where she and Asuma were watching a short distance away.

_Crap._ thought Asuma. _Brat just made my week more difficult._ He looked to Kurenai nervously.

" Uh, hey, want to get dinner?' he asked.

---

_Being dead wasn't bad._ thought Minato. He was seated on the steps of the arena, away from everyone. The cold feeling he had gotten when he had watched Naruto walk away was far worse than the helpless final moments of his life after sealing the Kyuubi. He was rather surprised when he saw his son walking towards him. Naruto stopped on the step next to him and stared wordlessly. Minato could read every apology the boy was thinking by the look on his face, and knew his own must have been the same.

For the first time the father and son embraced, sobbing joyously into each others shoulders. They stayed that way for a long time, finally breaking apart and sitting next to each other n the ruined steps.

" So, that Inuzuka kid said you have a girlfriend?" said Minato, sparking the conversation.

" Uh, yeah, Hinata-chan. She was the Hyuuga girl at the ramen stand." said Naruto awkwardly.

" Good job?" said Minato, unsure of the response. " She's quite pretty."

" Eh heh. Yeah she is." said Naruto smiling nervously and rubbing the back of his head. " I'm sorry to ask this, but what's your name?"

" Namikazi Minato" said Minato.

" Wait." said Naruto, eyes wide with shock. " You're the Forth Hokage?"

" Yeah. Before you ask, Jiraiya tells me the Third tried to keep this secret to keep you safe. I had a lot of enemies." said Minato.

" Oh." said Naruto, looking slightly angry but assuaged by the information.

" So, I heard you helped save the village today." said Minato, smiling proudly at Naruto. Naruto felt a strange contentment from the look. " Tell me about it."

Naruto eagerly began to tell his father the epic story of his life.

---

The next morning there was, to understate it immensely, a huge celebration. Despite the mourning of the Third, the celebration of the victory and the return of the Fourth marked the day as a joyous occasion. Word that Naruto was the son of the Forth spread quickly, and the pair hardly left each others side the entire day. It was a new experience for Naruto, being invited to so many places for dinner. He had only ever eaten in a few restaurants and the Hyuuga garden. His father accepted the invitation from the Akimachi, explaining they usually had the best food.

Leaving the Akimachi's manor, they stood for a moment in the cool evening air, enjoying the peace.

" So dad," asked Naruto, reveling in the term, " do you have a house or something?"

" Jiraiya told me it was destroyed by the fox." said Minato with a sigh. " The village elders will probably have me take the position of Hokage again, so we'll have the room's in the Kage's tower."

" Wait, really?" said Naruto excitedly, nearly leaping into the air. " That's awesome!"

" Well, the rooms are nice, but its like living in a office. Every time theres a problem someone wakes you up, so you don't get much sleep. I was never really good with that. The Third was amazing, though." said Minato, thinking back. " He could go without sleeping for days, lay down for only a few hours, and then continue on at the same pace. I never understood how he did it." Minato looked down at Naruto. " I guess well have to stay at your place for a while."

" Okay!" said Naruto. His father had refused to take the bed last night, sleeping on the couch the night before. He had been impressed with how clean Naruto kept the apartment, saying that his mother was like that as well.

They both noticed Iruka walking towards them, waving. Minato had found the man earlier and thanked him immensely for his treatment of Naruto.

" I have some good news, Naruto!" said Iruka, smiling widely. " According to the examiners, you were one of the people who made chunnin!"

" Way to go!" said Minato, slapping Naruto on the back.

" Yeah. According to the examiner, the moment the first Explosive Clone detonated you made it. Sasuke and Sakura did as well."

" Well, of course Sasuke made it." said Naruto rolling his eyes.

" I hear that Lee and Neji are quite upset that they didn't get a chance, but with the state of things it can't be helped. Apparently, though, the leader of the Hyuuga has been putting some pressure on the examiners to promote Neji in light of his defense of the clan manor." said Iruka, nudging Naruto with his elbow. " Quite the girlfriend you have there."

" Yeah, Hinata-chan's pretty great." said Naruto, blushing and smiling.

" Dude, score!" said Kiba from behind them. Naruto turned, spotting Kiba and Akamaru giving him a thumbs up and Hinata looking at him adoringly.

---

In the bushes nearby, Guy turned to Lee.

" Lee, mark that one down. That seemed to work well." said Guy.

" Yes, Guy-sensei!" replied Lee, already writing in his small notebook.

---

" We spent half the day looking for you." said Kiba.

" Well, I was kinda busy." Naruto said, looking at his father.

" We figured that." said Kiba. " But mom said I had to find you anyways. She's inviting you to breakfast with the clan."

" Uh…" said Naruto nervously, remembering the meals he had seen Kiba eat that resembled dog food.

" Can't. Were going for ramen." said Minato. Naruto looked up at him happily.

" Oh well." said Kiba, not looking surprised. " Hey, you know the fat old guy that taught you?" Naruto nodded, cringing slightly at the thought of Jiraiya. " He said he was really impressed with my summoning techniques so he's gonna help me with them. Apparently he's really good with them."

" He is. He's the guy who taught me summoning techniques. There is no one who knows more than the Pervy Sage." Minato said, using the nickname Naruto always used. Everyone laughed for a moment and Jiraiya's expense.

---

Across town at the women's bathhouse, Jiraiya sneezed, blowing his cover and leaving him to the wrath of a large number of village women and kunochi.

---

In a dark, deep cavern under the Hidden Village of Stone, the Eleven Masters were bowing and begging for their lives before the Tsuchikage.

" The failure was not our fault." groveled one piteously. " Had the Sand and Sound's plans succeeded…"

" You were to aid them." growled the Tsuchikage, cutting him off. " Instead you went and were defeated by a little girl and her servant, trying to regain your honor. You cost us a great victory and revenge against the Leaf. They could have been eradicated, and now Orochimaru is dead and our allies defeated."

" The ninja of Kohona were stronger than we expected!" said one of the prostrated ninja. " We could have never expected the defeat of the Sand's demon or the Clone Ninja's abilities!"

" Really?" cooed the Tsuchikage. " In order to tame their demon the Sand defeated it. They are strong, but not unstoppable. AND DID WE NOT TRADE," screamed the Tsuchikage towards the cowering ninja " WITH THOSE PATHETIC GRASS VERMIN FOR INFORMATION ON THE BRAT! And yet," said the cloaked ninja, calming down. " None of this compares to the news I received earlier."

" What news?" croaked one of the ninja.

" Orochimaru, intending to use the Yellow Flash to kill the Third, returned him from the dead." The Tsuchikage paused as the weight statement settled on his underlings. " Apparently, something went wrong, and now the Yellow Flash has simply returned, fully in control of himself. He will doubtlessly be renamed the Hokage, and our position will become as bad as it was after the war. But, there is one bit of good news." said the Tsuchikage, smiling. " Orochimaru's right hand man escaped and has come to us, promising to share the dark secrets of the Snake Sannin, many of which he directly created."

The Eleven Masters moved aside as Kabuto walked forward, revealing himself.

" And what does he ask in return?" said the Tsuchikage viciously.

" The destruction of Kohona." said the silver haired man.

---

ONE WEEK LATER

---

" See ya dad!" said Naruto, waving to his father as he ran past the Hokage's office.

" Hey, Naruto!" called Minato, casuing Naruto to stop. " When you get back tonight, I'm going to show you a technique you should work on. It's like Sasuke's Chidori, only better."

" All right! I'll be back after practice!" cheered the blonde chunnin as he ran off towards practice.

---


End file.
